Wizards Honour
by Kazza
Summary: Snape is facing the most terrible threat to his bachelorhood an arranged marriage. Can Snape and his 'bride', Sinistra, avoid the trap set by their relatives and the Hogwarts ghosts? Now Alternate Universe. Not OoTP or HBPcompatible
1. Part 1

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Wizards Honour by Kazza  
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Rating: PG-13  
Setting: Two months after the events in GoF  
Spoilers: All 4 books.  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, except Edgar Greenwood who is such an old duffer that I'm not sure I want to be held responsible for him. The characters and the world of Harry Potter belong to people more talented and cleverer that I. This story is merely intended as a tribute and as a bit of silly fanfic fluff.  
  
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Wizards Honour by Kazza  
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Part 1  
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Sometimes huge changes in a person's life are heralded by huge events, sometimes by tiny ones. Professor Severus Snape did not give the elderly Wizard a second thought when he cursed the Death Eater attacking the old man. It was a minor curse that deflected the man's attack long enough for the old Wizard to escape. So unconscious was the act that Snape barely remembered the name of the old man who had thanked him but Edgar Greenwood remembered Severus Snape.  
  
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"Just breathe, that's right." Minerva McGonagall's calm, commanding tones echoed up the corridor. Intrigued, and concerned that a student may be in trouble, Albus Dumbledore poked his head through the open doorway that led to the corridor.  
  
'Dear me, that's a sight you don't see everyday,' he though as he watched Professor McGonagall hold her witches hat over the face of a hyperventilating Potions Master. 'I wonder what's got Severus into such a state. I haven't seen him that upset since the Weasley twins rearranged his potions cabinet and he thought he'd drunk some of Remus Lupin's transformation-control potion.'  
  
Snape caught sight of Dumbledore watching him and went as white as Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic. This was quite an achievement as Professor Binns was the brightest of all the Hogwarts ghosts most of whom were a sort of greyish colour.  
  
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Snape gasped as he pulled the hat from his face. "I no longer require your help."  
  
"Are you sure, Severus? You've had a nasty shock."  
  
"No!" Snape snapped, making McGonagall jump. "No more, thank you," he said more quietly.  
  
"Very well." McGonagall stared up at him, "But if you fall ill it will be on your own head." She walked swiftly away towards the Griffindor dormitories.  
  
"I am proud of you, Severus," said Dumbledore, walking up to the Potions Master. "A few years ago you would not have softened your remarks. It shows a strengthening in your character."  
  
"Thank you," gasped Snape shakily, still breathing erratically.  
  
"I think a cup of tea is in order," Professor Dumbledore said in the gentle tone that Snape recognised as an unavoidable command. "Shall we adjourn to my office?"  
  
Professor Snape followed the Headmaster down the corridor. Snape was keen to avoid conversation but Dumbledore had other ideas.  
  
"You know, Severus, " said the Headmaster, "If you worked with your emotions rather than against them you wouldn't get yourself into this kind of state."  
  
"Thank you, Headmaster." Snape said in his cold, deadpan way. "I shall try to remember that."  
  
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"Now, Severus," said Dumbledore over a cup of tea. "What happened today?"  
  
"This!" Snape snarled. He pulled a scroll of parchment from a pocket in his robes and thrust it toward Dumbledore. The older man took the scroll and examined it.  
  
"This does look most formal," Dumbledore muttered. He undid the old-fashioned rope, touched the legal seal and unrolled the scroll. The Headmaster read the first sentence.  
  
"Good grief!" Dumbledore dropped the scroll and sat back in his chair. "I haven't seen one of these in years. I can understand why you were shocked."  
  
The scroll was a contract of Wizard's Honour; an ancient and rarely used law that could be activated only by a member of a long established, high-ranking Wizarding Family. The law stated that if a Wizard of lower rank saved the life of a Wizard of demonstrated higher rank, the two could activate a contract of Wizard's Honour. The contract allowed the lower-ranked Wizard to marry into the family of the higher-ranked one. Naturally, being a law for Nobility, the higher-ranked Wizard chose the bride.  
  
"So, can I assume by your reaction that you don't want to accept the contract?"  
  
"No, I don't!" Snape snarled then took a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm himself. "It's difficult enough working here and doing what we have to do to stop...them, without that!" Snape was starting to panic again. "I can get out of it, can't I?"  
  
"It's a very old law, Severus," Albus said gently, "But yes, you can refuse."  
  
"Then I'll refuse!"  
  
"You will need a good excuse."  
  
"It's for the good of Hogwarts." Snape said firmly.  
  
"You will need grounds to defend that cl...," Dumbledore's words were drowned out by the noisy arrival of Professor Sinistra.  
  
"I'm going to kill him!" Professor Sinistra ranted as she charged into the room. A rare sight for the Astronomy Professor was rarely seen downstairs before mid-afternoon.  
  
"No, I'm going to curse him first." She paced back across the room, still ignoring the two men who were watching her bizarre behaviour.   
  
'Perhaps,' thought Dumbledore, 'constantly working all night in the Astronomy Tower has unbalanced her.' He watched the small, wiry young woman, the curls of her mouse-brown short hair bounced around her boyish face as she paced backwards and forwards across the office. She was certainly upset about something.  
  
"No, I know," ranted Sinistra. "I'll lock him in a room with Rita Skeeter for a month, then I'll curse him, and then I'll kill him!" Happy with her decision regarding whomever it was she wanted to kill, Professor Sinistra suddenly stopped and turned to Professor Snape.   
  
"Severus, I apologise for my batty uncle's stupid contract. You can rest assured that you will not be forced to marry me."   
  
"Uh, thank you." Snape said weakly. The Potions Professor was learning so far away from Aurora Sinistra that he was almost falling off his chair.  
  
Professor Sinistra suddenly became aware of the expression of shock on Snape's face and the highly amused Headmaster.  
  
"Oh Merlin's Bum! I've made a total twit of myself, haven't I?"  
  
"You could say that," Dumbledore chuckled. His chuckle turned to smothered laughter when Snape overbalanced and fell off his chair.  
  
To be continued  
  
  
Author's Notes: This is NOT an attack-Snape fic. I couldn't find Professor Sinistra's first name so I've invented one for her. 


	2. Part 2

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Wizards Honour  
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Part 2  
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"Ah, lovely," Edgar Greenwood murmured while he drizzled a tablespoon of golden honey into his cup of tea. Tea, buttered toast and the Daily Prophet's Gossip Column were Edgar's favourite breakfast. He had the first two and soon, once the owl arrived with his newspaper, it would be a perfect morning.  
  
"I wonder how our Aurora's doing?" he said to Minum, his pet budgerigar. Minum cheeped merrily at the mirror in his cage, which Edgar took to be a reply to his question.   
  
"Hmmm, I don't rightly know if she'll be that happy with us," Edgar informed the little blue and white bird. The old man nibbled his toast and though of his great-niece. Aurora was a tough one, although that was no surprise. She'd been the first member of the Greenwood family to be put into Slytherin since the family had started sending their children to Hogwarts School in the 15th century. Slytherin House wasn't kind to its students just as the Greenwood's hadn't been gentle with Aurora.  
  
It was all Aurora's father's fault, of course. No one had been able to stop Elsie Greenwood once she'd decided to marry Astron Sinistra. Edgar could still recall the arguments. Elsie demanded the right to marry the man who was nearly forty years older than her because she loved him. Her father, Tobias, ordered her to choose someone who: wasn't tainted by darkness; came from a decent family that wasn't know for dabbling in the Dark Arts; and, wasn't old enough to be her grandfather. In the end Elsie had simply apparated out of her father's house and married Sinistra regardless of her family's opinion.   
  
Three years later, Elsie had contacted her father to tell him he had a new granddaughter. Everyone in the family had hoped that Aurora's arrival would ease the rift between Elsie and her father but it wasn't to be. By the time Tobias Greenwood was willing to speak to his daughter, Aurora had gone to Hogwarts and been sorted into Slytherin. That was a mortal sin in Tobias' eyes and he refused to meet the child.  
  
The irony that Elsie and Astron Sinistra and Tobias Greenwood had all died fighting for light in the battle against Voldemort had not been lost on Edgar Greenwood. After their deaths Edgar had sought out his great-niece, who was in her fifth year at Hogwarts, and taken her under his wing. Whether she'd wanted it or not. They'd got on quite well, although the child had inherited her father's tasteless Slytherin sense of humour.  
  
Problem was the dratted girl refused to find a decent man and settle down. Edgar would like to see his brother's great-grandchildren before he died, maybe even hang around long enough to see them graduate from Hogwarts, hopefully top of their class in Ravenclaw.  
  
Edgar had learnt from his brother's mistakes. Tobias had allowed Elsie to choose her husband. Well, an arranged marriage was good enough for Edgar's great-great-great-great-grand-parents and it would be good enough for Aurora. After all, at thirty-two she was definitely an old maid. A Slytherin old maid, too! She would be the oldest bride in four generations of the Greenwood family.  
  
"We've got a hard task in front of us, Minum," Edgar mumbled through a mouthful of toast. The bird's reply was lost in the noise made by the arrival of three postal owls.  
  
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'Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two, three, four.' The Bloody Baron counted silently. He watched Professor Severus Snape and knew that he was not a happy man.   
  
'Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.' This was the sixth time today that Snape had paced the length of the hallway outside his rooms. Pacing was a sure sign that Severus Snape was upset about something.   
  
'Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.' If Snape was pacing this much, reasoned the Baron, then the young man must be facing some powerful inner demons indeed.  
  
'Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, turn. One, two,' The Baron sighed silently and watched Snape pace the hallway for the seventh time. It was going to be a long day for the Slytherin House.  
  
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Severus felt the familiar thump of the hallway's stone floor beneath his feet. He reached the wall for the twenty-sixth time and turned.   
  
'Yes,' thought Severus, 'the hallway remained a nice, constant, comforting nineteen paces long. Unlike the stairs, the political situation of the Wizarding World, Neville Longbottom's potions and his personal life, this nice comforting hallway did not change without warning nor did it try to manipulate him. It remained calm, it remained steady, it remained... seventeen paces long?!'  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Snape yelled at the wall. The Bloody Baron glided up to him.  
  
"You changed the length of your stride, Master Severus," hissed Hogwart's most ancient spectre.  
  
"Oh, thank you, Baron." Snape sneered and turned. Angrily, he strode away towards the Potions classroom.   
  
'Great! Now I've got naff legs too,' he thought as he paced along the corridor, not bothering to count his paces. 'Why does everything have to change? I was just getting used to routine and someone goes and changes my damn feet!' Snape stopped at that thought and put his hand over his eyes, quelling the tantrum.  
  
"Severus Snape you are a pillock!" he said loudly.  
  
"If you say so," said Nearly-Headless Nick, the Griffindor House ghost, as he wafted past.  
  
Snape tried to think of a clever response but Nick was gone before he could say anything.  
  
'Oh good one Severus. Make an idiot of yourself why don't you?' Snape almost ran the rest of the way to his Potions classroom. 'Today cannot get any worse,' he thought, opening the door.  
  
"'Morning Professor," Aurora Sinistra said cheerfully from the teacher's chair. "Are you ready for the weekly Slytherin staff meeting?"  
  
'OK, so it could get worse.'  
  
Snape stared coldly at Sinistra. "I doubt that anything I could say to you today would be worth repeating or of use in the educational advancement of our students."  
  
"Ah!" Sinistra hopped off the chair and walked up to the nearly-steaming Potions Professor. "I take it now's not a good time to discuss the First Year's behaviour?"  
  
"Now is not a good time to discuss anything! Particularly not with you!" Severus channelled all of his anger into his voice. The tantrum, that had been building up inside him since he'd fallen off his chair and embarrassed himself the day before, spilled over and drove him to add a snarling sneer.  
  
Sinistra leant back as if Snape was aflame. "Sorry." Sinistra quickly left the room. 'Thank you so much Uncle Edgar,' she thought angrily while she headed towards the stairs. 'Salazar's Teeth, you'd think someone offered to marry Snape to a Basilisk the way he's behaving.'  
  
Snape watched the door close behind the younger teacher. He knew he shouldn't be taking his anger out on her but it felt too good not to do so.  
  
In the shadows of the classroom, the Baron watched and pondered the situation. 'This calls for a little good old-fashioned Slytherin guile.'  
  
To be continued  
  
  
Author's note: - thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. 


	3. Part 3

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Part 3  
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Neville knew he was in very big trouble as Professor Sinistra led him into Professor Dumbledore's office but he didn't know what he'd done. He'd been copying star charts in Professor Sinistra's class, using a 'mind's eye' drawing spell the Professor had taught the class. He thought he'd been doing it properly until the Professor had come to check his work.  
  
The Professor had picked his picture and looked at it.  
  
"This is exactly as you see it?" she had asked. Neville assumed he'd made a mistake and had looked carefully at the picture and the original.  
  
"Yes, Professor."  
  
Professor Sinistra had looked surprised. Then she'd grabbed Hermoine's picture, which was finished before anyone else's, and asked him to compare the two. Aside being only half finished his picture looked exactly like Hermione's and he'd told the Professor so.  
  
The next thing he knew he was asked to stay after class and was on his way to the Headmaster's office.  
  
If Neville had thought it was bad coming to Professor Dumbledore office was bad enough, discovering Professor Snape was there too was worse. Neville would have run back out the office door if Professor Sinistra hadn't been standing behind him.  
  
The Astronomy Professor gently pushed Neville into the room.   
  
"I thought you should see this, Professor?" She showed the pictures to Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"What is so exciting about star charts? They're boring at the best of times," snarled Professor Snape. Neville thought that Snape sounded tired rather than angry.  
  
The boy watched Professor Sinistra glare at Professor Snape and wondered if she'd get into trouble, after all Snape was her boss in Slytherin House.  
  
While Neville watched Snape and Sinistra glare at each other, Professor Dumbledore had compared Neville's picture with Hermoine's picture, which Sinistra had brought with her.  
  
"Neville, I believe you sometimes have problems finding things including your pet toad?" Professor Dumbledore said kindly.  
  
"Yes, Professor," Neville's eyes were brimming with tears. Whatever he'd done now must have got Professor Sinistra really angry because she was making a clicking noise with her tongue and she only did that when she was very angry.  
  
"Will you stop making that sound," snapped Snape. "I have a headache."  
  
"Well, we have a student who is behind in his classes from no fault of his own!" snapped Sinistra back at Snape.  
  
"The boy can't make potions! He always adds the ingredients at the wrong time," snarled Snape loudly and angrily.  
  
"I'm not bloody surprised!" Sinistra roared back.  
  
"Enough!" Dumbledore said firmly. "I will not have you behaving like this in front of a student."  
  
Neville almost giggled hysterically when Snape and Sinistra both looked guilty and flinched under Dumbledore's angry gaze.  
  
"Thank you for your assistance Professors. I think it may be best if you left Neville and I to sort this out, quietly." The Headmaster said firmly. He waited until Snape and Sinistra left the room, then he sighed and said in a calm tone, "Please sit down, Neville. Would you like a cup of tea?"  
  
Neville was so nervous that he felt like he'd swallowed Trevor and the toad was jumping up and down in his stomach. He stumbled to the chair and sat down. "What did I do wrong, sir? Professor Sinistra wouldn't tell me."  
  
"You have done nothing wrong, Neville. If anything it is the school and your family who have made the error by not realising why you were having trouble before now."  
  
"Then - then I'm not in trouble, Professor?" Neville whispered.  
  
"No, Neville, you are not in any trouble." Dumbledore smiled sadly, "I would however like to give you a small test."  
  
Not a test! thought Neville, horrified. He was really bad at tests. He'd mess it up and the Professor would make him leave Hogwarts.  
  
The Headmaster must have known what Neville was thinking because he said, "Don't worry, the test will be neither painful nor related to your scores. I just wish to discover the extent of your problem."  
  
"Am I sick, Professor?"  
  
"Oh, no. Forgive me for not explaining." Dumbledore smiled, "You are merely colour-blind Neville, to red and green at least."  
  
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"You just had to show me up, didn't you!" Snape snarled at Sinistra as he strode up the stairs.  
  
"Oh really Severus. I was not trying to show you up, however," Sinistra turned and looked back down the staircase at Snape, "if you ever belittle my life's work like that again I won't be responsible for my behaviour."  
  
"And I suppose that yelling at your House Master in front of the Headmaster and a student is appropriate behaviour?"  
  
"No." Aurora sighed, "I apologise, it was unprofessional of me."  
  
"Thank you." Snape smirked and climbed two more stairs until he was looking into her eyes, "If I had known an apology would be so easy to extract I would have made you suffer more."  
  
"I am not a beetle, Severus. You can't pull off my legs and torture me." Aurora winked, "I'd make too much noise."  
  
"Your hobbies are none of my business." Severus smirked.  
  
"In your dreams, Snake-man." Aurora grinned and laughed. Snape winced at the noise. "Have you taken something for that headache?"  
  
"You are nagging me, Professor," Snape whispered coldly.  
  
"No, I am not, Professor." Sinistra replied equally coldly.  
  
"I do not respond to nagging." He climbed a step.  
  
"Oh, that's why you sent those rude letters to my uncle."  
  
"I detest nagging." He climbed another step, the same step that Sinistra stood on.   
  
"You should have seen the size of the howler I sent him." Sinistra added.  
  
"I abhor nagging. Am I understood?" Snape glowered at her.  
  
"Certainly." Sinistra stared up at the man who towered above her. "You are speaking perfect English. You detest nagging. I, on the other hand, detest unpunctuality and if I don't go now I'll be late for my evening class." She smiled and jogged up the staircase and leapt agilely onto the landing as the staircase began to move.  
  
"It's just as well I wasn't nagging." She called back as she ran up the next staircase. A few moments later she called down from the next landing, "And don't forget to take something for that headache."  
  
"Nag!" Snape yelled after her.  
  
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Over the next few weeks, Neville was very nice to Professor Sinistra. He knew the Astronomy Professor was a prickly sort of person and a Slytherin but she'd worked out his problem. Besides, she'd yelled at Professor Snape; a memory Neville treasured, especially during Potions lessons.  
  
His studies were going better now too, thanks to Professor Flintwick. The little Professor had been teaching Neville charms to recognise different colours - charms that made green things glow silver and red things different shades of sparkling yellow. The only problem with the charms was that they made the Gryffindor colours yellow and sparkling yellow and the Sytherin colours silver and glowing silver. Still Neville knew he could survive a little problem like that.  
  
One thing was worrying Neville. For some reason both Professors Snape and Sinistra were being nice to him. He could understand Professor Sinistra being nice but Professor Snape being nice was scary.  
  
At first Neville thought he'd been imagining it but after Snape had offered to tutor him in Potions Neville realised it was true. What was really strange was that it was almost like some sort of competition. If Professor Sinistra did one nice thing in her lesson then Snape did two and so on. It was getting so bad that all the other students had noticed too.  
  
"I'm glad it's Christmas soon," Neville told Trevor late one night. "I don't think I can take much more Slytherin niceness."  
  
To be continued  
  
Author's note: thank you for your patience and your comments, they're appreciated. The next part will be up a lot faster than this one was. K 


	4. Part 4

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Part 4  
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"Is everyone here?" Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington said officiously.  
  
"The Baron has yet to arrive, Sir Nicholas," the Grey Lady's quiet voice wafted across the classroom.  
  
"Well if he doesn't hurry up we'll start the meeting without him." Sir Nicholas replied and nodded so firmly that his head fell, mostly, off.  
  
"Oh, do keep your head on," chuckled the Fat Friar.  
  
"Ha! Ha! You know," grumbled Sir Nicholas, "that joke was old when Dumbledore was a child."  
  
"That recently?" the Fat Friar grinned.  
  
The conversation came to a halt when the Bloody Baron drifted through the far wall. He surveyed his fellow spectres and raised his left eyebrow, sardonically.  
  
"I've always wondered," quipped Sir Nicholas, "is being able to do that a prerequisite for joining Slytherin?"  
  
The Baron lowered his left eyebrow and raised his right one. He leered evilly at Sir Nicholas.  
  
"Gentlemen," said the Grey Lady quietly. "Kindly behave like the Noble Ghosts you are and not like a pair of schoolboys fighting over an orange."  
  
"An orange?" Sir Nick asked.  
  
"They were all the rage when I was corporeal," sniffed the Grey Lady.  
  
"Must've been a while ago," muttered Sir Nick, earning himself icy stares from the other three spectres. "My apologies, my lady, it's just I was expecting you to say a 'chocolate frog'. The children these days seem to thrive on them."  
  
"It's the cards you know, they..." the Fat Friar's words were interrupted by the Bloody Baron.  
  
"Forget the frogs."  
  
"Oh, yes. Certainly my lord Baron." The Fat Friar adjusted his cowl and said, "Right-o, I call to order the first meeting of the GHOULS Society and..."  
  
"Ghouls?" Sir Nicholas spluttered.   
  
"Really, how could you address us as common Ghouls?" murmured the Grey Lady, sounding very like Professor Trelawney when she wasn't getting her way.  
  
"Ghosts Helping Our Unwed Lonely Slytherins," said the Fat Friar patiently.   
  
Sir Nicholas snorted, "Better not let Professor Snape hear that one. I don't know about you but I don't fancy meeting another Basilisk."  
  
"Forget the name," hissed the Bloody Baron commandingly. "I want to get this over with before Peeves wrecks the castle."  
  
"Very well," said the Grey Lady. "I shall chair the meeting." She looked at the three male spectres and waited for Sir Nicholas to stop fidgeting, before she added, "As I understand it our plan is to use subtle methods to ensure Professors Snape and Sinistra are wed by... when, my lord Baron?"  
  
"Before the end of the school year," whispered the Bloody Baron.  
  
"So, we have to get them married by June." The Grey Lady said firmly. "I have been considering the matter and I have come up with a plan of attack." She pulled a large spectral parchment out of her sleeve and - ignoring Sir Nicholas's 'how'd she do that?' - she unfurled it. It was a map of Hogwarts Castle.  
  
"As you can see, our main problem is distance. Professor Snape lurks here in the dungeons." The Grey Lady pointed to a section of the map marked 'in desperate need of Spring Cleaning'. "While Professor Sinistra hides up in the Astronomy Tower." She pointed to a tower marked 'Shift workers - do not haunt during daytime'. "Our biggest problem would seem to be getting them in the same room at the same time."  
  
"Duh!" said the Fat Friar. He blushed pale pink, "Sorry, been around the children too much."  
  
"It is rather obvious, my lady," added Sir Nick.  
  
"What I was going to say, before you rudely interrupted me," the Grey Lady sniffed, "is that we need to get Professor Sinistra downstairs. Professor Snape wanders all over the lower reaches of the castle. Redirecting him should be relatively easy. Even your Sir Nicholas or the Fat Friar could do it."  
  
"Thank you very much!" said the Friar in a hurt tone. He floated away to the far corner of the room where he sulked.  
  
"Oh yes," added Sir Nicholas, pacing back and forth in mid-air, "we go after the dangerous one while you and the Baron go after the one who won't jinx you into another existence."  
  
"Afraid?" sneered the Baron.  
  
"No," replied Sir Nicholas huffily, "but I do not like to have my bravery questioned."  
  
"Oh really! You are brave, both of you." The Grey Lady said bossily, "But you are not good dissemblers. It will take a lot of deception to get Professor Sinistra out of that tower. The Baron and I are better in that regard."  
  
Sir Nicholas and the Fat Friar exchanged glances and nodded to each other.  
  
"Very well, my lady," Sir Nicholas bowed and smiled, "we'll redirect Snape and you show what an expert liar you are."  
  
Lost for words, the Grey Lady stared angrily at Sir Nicholas while the Friar chuckled and the Baron raised both his eyebrows in amusement.  
  
"Very well," the Grey Lady said firmly. "When shall we start?"  
  
"I have already started," the Baron replied, a cold smile on his face. "We will act tomorrow. After the letters arrive."  
  
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Professor Snape was making his way to breakfast the next morning when he saw Professor Sinistra coming down the staircase. Not quite knowing why, he waited for her to catch up to him.  
  
"Unusually early for you, Professor," Snape said quietly.  
  
"It was cloudy last night," yawned Sinistra. "No good for making observations."  
  
"So why are you yawning?" muttered Snape, momentarily distracted by the sight of the Fat Friar winking at him and disappearing around a corner in the hallway.  
  
"My darn body clock hasn't caught up."   
  
They walked for a while in silence until, just before entering the Great Hall, Sinistra said, "Staff meeting tomorrow?"  
  
"As you are here now we may as well hold a brief meeting over breakfast."  
  
Sinistra nodded and followed the Potions Master into the hall. Both of them were oblivious to the way the Headmaster and the House Spectres were watching them.   
  
Snape and Sinistra sat together at one end of the staff table and quietly discussed their students. After Snape had got his younger colleague to agree that she wouldn't throw Draco Malfoy off the Astronomy Tower if he pinched her backside again, they moved onto the subject of Neville Longbottom.  
  
Snape's gloat over having outdone Sinistra's good deed was interrupted by the arrival of the food and the mail.  
  
"Not another one," groaned Aurora as her great-uncle's elderly owl dropped a letter on her plate. "Why won't he just give up?"  
  
Beside her Snape blinked in surprise at the letter in his hand. Why in the world was she writing to him? With foreboding he ripped open the letter.   
  
The sentence Snape yelled two minutes later contained so many of the schools forbidden swear words that a shocked Professor Dumbledore said, "Twenty points from Slytherin, Severus! And," he said fiercely to the students, "if I hear of any variation of that phrase being said by any student their house will instantly lose twenty points! Per Word!"  
  
The students chattering became even louder when Professor Sinistra dropped the letter she was reading, pulled her hat off her head and clamped it over her mouth. Her screaming was barely muffled by the cloth.  
  
To be continued. 


	5. Part 5

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Part 5  
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"I can not remember a teacher at this school behaving in such a deplorable fashion!" The Grey Lady shrieked while she floated jerkily around the third floor corridor. "Such language!" The Grey Lady was waving her fan so forcefully that she would have broken it if it had been solid.  
  
"Bah!" replied the Bloody Baron. "Stop this foolishness! Peeves uses that sort of language daily."  
  
"Peeves is not a teacher! Nor is he so ... creative." The Grey Lady replied haughtily. "I am sorry, my lord Baron, but I cannot condone wedding poor Professor Sinistra to such a rude creature." With that she floated down the hallway and in the direction of the Ravenclaw common room.  
  
The Bloody Baron watched her leave and smiled his bone-chilling smile. He didn't need the snobbish wench's help. Judging by Snape's reaction most of the siege towers were moving into place. All that was needed for victory was a well-timed attack on Snape's and Sinistra's defences and for the final traps to be sprung; then victory would be his.  
  
"Oh yes," he thought while he glided down the staircase, "their's will be a true old-fashioned Syltherin marriage. They will be throwing insults, hexes and furniture from the start. How delicious!"  
  
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For the third time in a month, Professor's Snape and Sinistra found themselves in the Headmaster's office explaining their actions to Albus Dumbledore. The last time either of them could remember seeing Dumbledore look as angry as he did at that moment was the day the Triwizard Cup had come to an abrupt end.  
  
"I am deeply disappointed in both of you," Dumbledore looked at them over the top of his half-moon glasses. "Hogwarts is a community and everything we do affects that community. As teachers you both influence the behaviour and wellbeing of all the students at this school. If you wish to continue to teach at Hogwarts, I expect you to act more appropriately in future!"  
  
"Yes, Albus," said Aurora quietly. Severus was surprised by Aurora's meek nod to the older man.   
  
"Severus, I trust I won't have to ask this a third time?" Dumbledore's voice held the familiar gentle bark of command.  
  
Snape winced, remembering the scene with Sirius Black months ago that'd prompted Dumbledore's first request. "My apologies, Professor."  
  
"Good, now what in the world is this all about?" Dumbledore demanded.  
  
"This!" Snape pulled a letter out of his pocket and began to read it aloud,  
  
"From: Madame Medusa Snape  
"Cottage 6  
"Baldoro's Retirement Village for Elderly Wizards and Witches  
"Kreaki  
"Sicili  
  
"To: Professor Severus Snape  
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
"Scotland  
  
"My dear Great-Grandson,  
I have not heard from you in three years. I had assumed you were lost in the wilds of some Muggle-infested slum or Azkaban Prison. For if you were not lost you must be ignoring me, and that, dear Severus, is not wise.  
  
"I hope you are shocked to hear from me after all these years. Soon, you will be more shocked. I have decided to leave you a legacy. You know I have little money, thanks to that no-good son of mine, your grandfather. However, today I received news of you and an opportunity came to me that I just had to take.  
  
"A certain contract was presented to me by a nice young man, I believe his name was Greenwood. As head of our tiny family of two, your old great-granny was happy to sign it. It seemed such a perfect opportunity to make up for all those birthday and Halloween gifts you have not sent to me.  
  
"Enjoy married life, if you can.   
"I will be thinking of you, often.  
"Yours gleefully,  
"Medusa Snape"  
  
  
"It is a rather harsh letter, Severus," Dumbledore murmured. The old Professor's anger had melted away while Snape had read the letter.  
  
"Actually, for Medusa it is a nice letter." Snape replied ruefully; he added his great-grandmother's name to his growing mental list of people who took pleasure in manipulating him.  
  
"The old tart!" Aurora muttered.  
  
"I'll thank you," Snape snarled, "not to speak of my great-grandmother like that." Silently he added, "that's my job."   
  
"I was talking about my uncle." Sinistra replied sharply.  
  
Snape was silent for a moment then he laughed humourlessly, "Revenge at the hands of a younger man. The old Witch must have thought all her Halloweens had come at once."  
  
"We should put a Wizard's Honour Contract on them and they can go off and have the 'romantic honeymoon' my uncle keeps talking about."  
  
Dumbledore sighed, "That's a mental image I could live without. Definitely not one for my Pensieve."  
  
"Uh huh," Sinistra added quietly, her mind full of images of her Uncle Edgar yelling bad poetry and chasing Severus' granny around the bedroom in his tiny cottage. "Sorry."  
  
"How do we stop this? Can we cancel the ceremony?" Severus growled. He sat forward in his chair and covered his eyes with his hands. 'If I pretend this isn't happening,' he thought, 'it might all go away. Damn it! I am so sick of not being in control of my life.'  
  
"Under the Wizards Honour Law there is not requirement for a ceremony. Once the contract is signed you are married, but it will not be finally binding until it's publicly announced," Dumbledore said quietly. The elderly wizard was tempted to return the twenty points to Slytherin House. If he had been in Snape's situation he would have been tempted to use more than a few very rude words.  
  
Snape lowered his hands, "So there's a chance...?"  
  
"Oh yes!" Sinistra said sharply. She sighed, "So long as making an announcement in Kreaki Village, sending an advert to the Daily Prophet and notifying the Ministry of Magic in writing do not constitute a public announcement." She tossed the letter from her uncle onto the table.  
  
Albus picked up the letter and quickly read it. "I am afraid," he said solemnly, "that this means you are already legally married."  
  
"Oh." Severus blinked owlishly for a moment. "Excuse me," he said before he calmly stood, took a deep breath and fainted.  
  
"Not taking the news well, is he," said Dumbledore as he looked at the unconscious form of the Potions Master.   
  
Speechless, Aurora shook her head.  
  
"I think we could all use a nice cup of tea." Dumbledore said firmly. "Don't wake him until I return."  
  
To be continued 


	6. Part 6

--------------------------------  
Part 6  
--------------------------------  
  
"Professor Sinistra!" Dumbledore walked into the room and gave the young woman a stern look. "Kindly stop kicking Professor Snape."  
  
"It was just a nudge to check he wasn't faking it. Fancy a grown man fainting," Sinistra scoffed as she moved her foot away from the Potions Master's leg. "He wasn't waking up so I cast 'enervate' on him."  
  
"Did I not tell you to wait until I returned?" The Headmaster placed the tea tray onto his desk with a loud thump.  
  
Sinistra turned away from the Headmaster and looked at the portraits on the wall. 'Why,' she thought, 'does Albus' disappointment make me feel like a naughty First Year?'  
  
Behind her Dumbledore cast a spell over Snape. "That should do it." Dumbledore muttered then returned to the desk and poured a cup of tea.  
  
Snape's eyes flicked open. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore sent the full teacup floating towards Snape. The Potions Master sat up groggily and took hold of the cup. Snape seemed to be confused; he stared at the cup as though not sure what he was supposed to do with it.  
  
"Take your time, Severus, and drink your tea." Dumbledore said kindly. "You are suffering the after effects of a Poison Pen letter and a poorly timed rejuvenation spell."  
  
"It wouldn't be 'poorly timed' if someone told me what was going on, for once," Sinistra muttered. Then, deciding tact was probably better than losing her job, she added, "I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore. I can't take all this in at the moment."  
  
"You need time to consider your future, Aurora." Dumbledore said commandingly. "While you are doing that I have a job for you."  
  
'Why don't I like the sound of this?' thought Sinistra.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
When Professor Sinistra reached the Teacher's Meeting Room, two hours later, she found Professor Snape seated at the table. Snape was sipping a recovery potion from a goblet. Snape was obviously deep in thought and didn't react when Sinistra entered the room. 'Wonderful,' thought Sinistra, 'he's gone into Sulky Slytherin mode.'  
  
"Did you want to see me?" Sinistra asked sharply.  
  
"Thank you," Snape's voice was dripping sarcasm, "for the mistimed spell. It has done so much for my health."  
  
Sinistra couldn't think of a clever reply so she said nothing. She sat in a chair and put her feet on the seat of another.  
  
"Is my dungeon still in one piece?" Snape snarled.  
  
"Yes, although the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw First Year's might never forget that class." Sinistra grinned, "Relax, I left Katie Bell in charge. When I left she was cleaning out your cauldron."  
  
Snape glared imperiously at her. "I - beg - your - pardon?"  
  
"Exhibit A," Sinistra put a jar on the bench. Snape picked up the jar and examined the contents.  
  
"The potion is supposed to be deep red and thin." He stared at the grey gooey mess in the jar. "Who made this?"  
  
"I did." Aurora smiled ruefully. "Did I mention that I failed my Potions NEWTS?"  
  
"I would never have guess." Snape's reply was pure acid.  
  
"Don't worry, all the students got it right. They bottled and marked their potions for your final expert approval."  
  
Snape nodded and fell silent.  
  
"I once considered writing a potions book." Sinistra said quietly.  
  
"You," spluttered Snape.  
  
"Uh huh. I was going to title it 'Magical Me's Guide to Potions and," she pointed to the jar, "'Putty'."  
  
Snape snorted then bit back the smirk that threatened to cross his face.  
  
"Yep," added Sinistra, looking at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Unfortunately the person who was going to help me is working on his current book. It's titled 'How I Lost My Memory While Arsing Around With Memory Charms by Filderoy, is that my name, Glockhardt'."  
  
This time Severus gave in to a wry smirk. Aurora pretended she hadn't noticed the smirk and continued looking at the mess in the jar. Silence fell across the room and both teachers were soon lost in their own thoughts. After a few minutes, Aurora spoke.  
  
"Sev, what are we...?" Sinistra stopped speaking as she saw the expression on Snape's face. "What?"  
  
"My name," said Snape, suddenly cold again, "is Severus. I would appreciate you using my correct given name and not mangling it in the same way you do the rest of the English language."  
  
Aurora took a deep breath, "I am sorry that my uncle and your great-grandmother are sneaky old twits but that doesn't give you the right to take it out on me." She jumped to her feet and stomped towards the door.  
  
Snape raised his wand and cast a locking, summoning and binding spell in quick succession. Aurora screeched as she flew backwards and was tied to a chair.  
  
"Bully!" she sneered at him.  
  
"Be quiet and listen, if you are capable of it." Snape sat on the edge of the table and glared down at her. "I refuse to marry you," he said softly. "Your manner is coarse, you have an immature attitude I cannot stand and, frankly, if I had to be forced to marry someone I would choose someone more," he sneered, "visually appealing."  
  
"Really!" Aurora blinked refusing to cry in front of the rude, annoying man who she had considered her friend. "And I suppose you're all sweetness and light? Neither of us is getting a good deal out of this."  
  
Snape didn't reply.  
  
"Professor, if someone were to come in this would look rather ... umm," Aurora looked down at the ropes.  
  
Snape smirked and still said nothing.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
"Professor McGonagall." The voice was a low, cold whisper.  
  
"Oh!" Minerva McGonagall stopped abruptly and looked behind her. "Baron, you surprised me." It was a surprise indeed, the Bloody Baron hadn't spoken to Minerva in months.  
  
"I believe you are needed in the Teacher's Meeting Room." The Baron hissed.  
  
"Uh, thank you." McGonagall hurried down the hallway and wondered what was so important that it would interrupt her lunch break.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Professor McGonagall was acting very like the Grey Lady had while she subjected Snape and Sinistra to a lecture in the teacher's meeting room. The other teachers in the room, Professors Sprout and Flitwick, were as unimpressed with Snape and Sinistra's behaviour as McGonagall was but contented themselves with glaring disapprovingly at the Slytherin duo while McGonagall went on with her mini-Inquisition.  
  
Earlier, Professor McGonagall had unlocked the door and stormed into the room to find Sinistra tied to a chair and Professor Snape saying, "And that, Sinistra, is why you never turn your back on a Weasley."  
  
Miffed that her Gryffindors were being discussed by her two least-favourite teachers, the Deputy Headmistress had released Sinistra and had begun listing all the Slytherin teachers' crimes in great detail. By the time the other teachers arrived, thanks again to the Baron, Minerva was listing some old social mistakes both Slytherins had forgotten about and various misdemeanours they'd committed as students.   
  
Finally McGonagall reached the matter at hand.  
  
"Just how, Severus, do you suggest we stop Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle from quoting that outburst of yours?" Minerva said sternly. "And don't you dare suggest removing their memory of the incident. It was deplorable. What will the parents say?"  
  
Professor Snape opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Flora Sprout.  
  
"How could you damage Hogwart's reputation like that?" Sprout demanded hotly. Flitwick nodding firmly in agreement.  
  
"Their reputation?" Sinistra snapped. "Flora, Hogwart's reputation is the least concern here. It's survived much worse before now."  
  
"Since poor Cedric's death..." Sprout sniffed dramatically and fell silent.  
  
"It's sad that Cedric died but you really should stop making such a drama out of it." Sinistra muttered. She was tired, late for a class and didn't want to listen to any more talk.  
  
"How could you? How disgusting!" Sprout was so angry her voice was cracking. She sniffed loudly and pulled a large, yellow and pink polka-dotted handkerchief from her sleeve.  
  
"Face it, Flora. He's dead! Cope with it," Sinistra said bossily. "If you don't cope with it then your students won't either."  
  
"That's enough!" Flitwick said, the rare sound of anger in the tiny teacher's voice. He patted Sprout's hand consolingly.  
  
Sinistra shifted in her chair and stared at her watch. This rubbish was cutting into her celestial observation time, not to mention the combined 6th year tutorial session.  
  
"Are we inconveniencing you, Professor?" McGonagall glared down at Sinistra.  
  
"Actually, yes," Sinistra replied firmly. "I have a 6th year tutorial in ten minutes." She got to her feet. "Do you need me for anything else?"  
  
"No I think you have said quite enough." McGonagall watched Sinistra leave the room then turned on Snape.   
  
"Don't do it again, Severus," commanded McGonagall. "And no more of your arguments." Sprout and Flitwick nodded their agreement and followed her out of the room, closing the door behind them.  
  
"What arguments," snarled Snape at the closed door, "I couldn't get a damn word in edgewise."  
  
To be continued 


	7. Part 7

--------------------------------  
Part 7  
--------------------------------  
  
"Eaargh!" Remus Lupin wiped the cereal and milk off his face and stared across the kitchen table in his tiny cottage at his now-swearing friend. "I take it, Sirius, there's a reason that I'm wearing your breakfast?"  
  
"It's not bloody fair!" roared Sirius Black, spitting more of his breakfast across the table with his yells.  
  
"I do wish you'd either yell or eat," Remus said calmly. He looked at the cereal splattered copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in Sirius' hands and wondered if it was still readable. As usual, Sirius had pinched it before he'd had a chance to look at it.  
  
Sirius stared sulkily at the news-scroll.  
  
"What is it?" Remus prompted.  
  
"//Bleeping// Snape, the son of a //bleep bleep bleep bleep bleeping bleep bleep//!" Sirius yelled at the news- before he crumpled it up and threw it onto the table.  
  
Remus, who at that moment was glad he'd cast a PG-13 censorship charm on his ears three days before, nodded sagely at his friend and said, "So what has he done now?"  
  
"Got a woman! That's what!" Sirius growled, then added sulkily, "It's not fair!" He grabbed a piece of toast and began slathering butter and marmalade across it.  
  
With a flick of his wand and a few charms, Remus flattened and cleaned the Daily Prophet. Sirius leant across the table and pointed at the offending article with his knife. "There!" The Animagus sat back in his chair and took his anger out on his toast, biting it into two so fiercely that he got butter and marmalade on his nose.  
  
After wiping marmalade off the article, Remus read it.   
  
'Public Notices. Mr Edgar Greenwood and Madame Medusa Snape wish to announce the contracted engagement of their relatives Professor Severus Snape and Professor Aurora Sinistra. A ceremony for their relative and friends will be held at a future date.'  
  
"Aurora Sinistra?" Remus remembered the quick-witted woman from his time teaching at Hogwarts. If Remus remembered correctly Sinistra had no time for complainers and if there was one thing Snape was good at it doing in staff meetings it was complaining. "They'll murder each other," he muttered.  
  
"Really?" Sirius said cheerfully. He picked up his half-empty bowl and started eating his cereal, again. "Sounds like fun."  
  
"Oh, do behave!" Remus looked over the top of the scroll before he returned to scanning it. He soon found what he was looking for.  
  
"Listen to this." Lupin read aloud from the gossip section, "Desperation at Hogwarts School. You may have heard mention of Hogwarts youngest teacher, the less-than-glamorous Astronomy Professor, Aurora Sinistra."  
  
"Meow!" said Black though a mouthful of Wizard Wheaties.  
  
"Yes," Lupin said quietly then continued reading, "It seems that Professor Sinistra is desperate for a man and has managed to hook the youngest male teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Severus Snape."  
  
"Poor, sad girl," quipped Black cheekily.  
  
"Did I say desperate? Well a girl must be at her wit's end to evoke Wizard Honour. You read that right, dear reader; she forced him into a contract. How medieval can you get?   
  
"Your erstwhile reporter finds it strange that she didn't try to hook at bigger or more handsome fish than the dark and greasy potions master but, as we all know, beggars can't be choosers."  
  
Sirius laughed, "Someone needs to give that reporter a saucer of milk."  
  
"We hope that the Astronomy tomboy knows what she's caught and doesn't burn her fingers. An alleged former Death-Eater, Professor Snape is known for his strong discipline and equally strong dislike of Harry Potter. Not exactly a nice catch."  
  
"Oh, really!" said Remus, interrupting himself. "How can they be so mean?"  
  
"Being mean's easy," Sirius replied. "Being nice is difficult."  
  
"Humph!" Lupin stopped short of adding, 'is that why you make it so difficult for me to be nice'. Then, before Black could say anything more, Remus read, "Your correspondent wonders what Hogwarts Headmaster Professor Dumbledore thinks of this arrangement between the only teachers at Hogwarts who belonged to Slytherin. Perhaps he feels they are well suited or perhaps it is an appropriate punishment for former misdemeanours?"  
  
"I like that reporter." Sirius ignored Remus' look of annoyance and added, "Snape deserves all he gets."  
  
"Like you?" Remus said softly. "Or me?"  
  
"We're different." Sirius nodded fiercely. "Gryffindor brothers together in adversity. Eh Moony?"  
  
Annoyed with his friend's callous behaviour, Remus said nothing.  
  
"Still, if Snape can find someone then there's hope for us yet." Black grinned mischievously.  
  
"I know that look, Padfoot. Whatever you're planning, you can just forget it now."  
  
"Me? Plan something? Never!"  
  
Remus didn't like the way the mischievous grin stayed on Sirius' face all morning.  
  
  
To be continued  
  
Author's note - sorry this part's a bit short. Next part shall make up for it.... Promise. K 


	8. Part 8

--------------------------------  
Part 8  
--------------------------------  
  
About the same time as Sirius Black was spitting his Wizard Wheaties onto Remus Lupin's face, Professor Severus Snape was sitting glumly in his chair at the breakfast table in the Great Hall at Hogwarts and wondering if the world had gone mad.   
  
If Snape had thought the day before that his life was running out of his control faster than the Hogwarts Express without a driver, that morning his life jumped the rails and derailed. When the morning mail arrived at Hogwarts, Snape discovered the true meaning of chaos.  
  
Snape hadn't realised just how many teachers and students had the news-scroll delivered daily. He sat silently in his chair as questions and conversations erupted around him. He stared fixedly into his bowl of Rice Pop'n'Wizz Fizzies and wished he could apparate to anywhere but the Great Hall. He could have stood up and walked from the room but by the time that thought came to mind his infamous stubborn streak had taken over. There was no way that he was going to let the students and the other teachers make him leave the room unless he wanted to leave.  
  
He listened to the shocked tones of the teachers' voices as, with his gaze fixed on his food, as he determinedly ate his breakfast. He succeeded in ignoring the words and stares from students and teachers alike until a muffled giggle drew his attention. He looked towards giggler and saw Professors Sprout, Flitwick and, surprisingly, McGonagall leaning conspiratorially over a copy of 'The Daily Prophet'. They kept looking over at him and Flitwick was giggling behind his hand.   
  
"Most unprofessional," said Rolanda Hooch. "You can't play the game fairly without an equal start." Hooch's firm voice echoed across the table. The Flying Instructor threw her copy of 'The Daily Prophet' to Snape, earning her a gentle smile of approval from Dumbledore.  
  
Snape nodded his thanks and bit back a smirk at the grumbles from Sprout and Flitwick, and the imperious glare from McGonagall.   
  
Severus opened 'The Daily Prophet' and began to read.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Oh my!" The Fat Friar exclaimed as he read 'The Daily Prophet' over Justin Finch-Fletchley's shoulder. "Oh my, oh my, oh my!"  
  
Over at the Gryffindor table, Sir Nicholas was listening to Hermione Granger read out the gossip article. The girl was peppering her reading with comments like 'well really' and 'almost as bad as Rita Skeeter'.  
  
Sir Nicholas was watching the Bloody Baron. "That old Spectre has got something to do with this," thought Sir Nick, "I can feel it in my ether."  
  
The Bloody Baron sat silently and gloated.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
'Bammmm!' The heavy door to the Astronomy Professor's room slammed open.  
  
Professor Sinistra jerked awake, sat up in her bed and blinked owlishly. "What happened? Who died?"   
  
The only reply was the sound of heavy breathing.   
  
Sinistra wiped the sleep from her eyes and glowered at the figure in the doorway. Snape was leaning on the doorframe and gasping for air.  
  
"You pervert!" Aurora picked up her wand and aimed it at the Potions Master.  
  
"I," puff, "am not a," puff, "pervert." Snape threw Hooch's copy of 'The Daily Prophet' to Sinistra. It fell short, landing on the floor. Snape shrugged and rested his face against the doorframe.  
  
Sinistra suddenly understood and chuckled. "Did you run up all those stairs?"  
  
Still puffing, Snape nodded slightly.  
  
Still chuckling, Sinistra summoned 'The Daily Prophet' and her ratty old bathrobe. She shrugged into the robe then climbed out of bed and began reading the news-scroll.  
  
"So? Why the rush?" She waved the scroll at Snape. "It's just an announcement."  
  
Severus stomped over from the door. "There!" He pointed at the gossip column. He watched Aurora read the article, her face becoming more thunderous by the second and she was making the familiar clicking sound with her tongue that told how angry she was.  
  
"The whole school knows." Snape said quietly.  
  
Sinistra calmly handed him the news-scroll.  
  
"Excuse me a moment." She walked over to dinted waste-parchment bin and transfigured into a punching bag with the face of The Daily Prophet's gossip columnist, Eve S Dropper, drawn on it. Sinistra took a deep breath and then kicked the punching bag repeatedly. Eventually she hobbled back towards the bed, transfiguring the bag back into its former shape.  
  
Snape smirked down at Sinistra's bruised toes and over at the very dinted waste-parchment bin.  
  
"Don't you start," Aurora grumbled. "It's bad enough that this," she pointed at Dropper's picture, "this excuse for a - a -. Oh darn it, I'm so angry I can't even swear properly!" Aurora sat down heavily on the bed.   
  
"What are we going to do?" her voice was quiet and shaky.  
  
"Not what they want." Severus said coldly, he had gained control of his breathing during Aurora's assault on the punching bag. "I do not like being manipulated, particularly by amateurs."  
  
"I used to have a decent reputation." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "If I was a meek little Hufflepuff I'd resign and let you save your reputation. But I'm not and I won't!"  
  
"You will fight?"  
  
"Yes. It is my life and I don't like other people running it." She squared her jaw and looked up at Snape. "It is past time they did the running."  
  
"You may end up as hated as I." Severus replied, inwardly surprised at the young woman's determination.  
  
"Not everyone hates you, Severus. The Slytherin students think you're cool."  
  
Snape blinked at that reply then began to pace the room. "We will start by not commenting." He stopped pacing close to the bed. "There must be a legal way out of this. And if not - "  
  
"If not we'll find an illegal one." Sinistra replied.  
  
"Spoken like a true Slytherin." Snape sat down beside the Astronomy Professor. "We will have to face a lot of questions from the students."  
  
"We can handle them. It's the teachers and this," she pointed at the news-scroll in Snape's hand, "that worry me."  
  
Snape nodded. Both Professors sat in companionable silence for a few moments, their minds full of the possible outcomes of the gossip article. Snape was imagining trying to explain the situation to Voldemort and Malfoy while Sinistra was imagining what her very proper mentor at the Wizarding Astronomers And Stargazers Unified Procedures Society (WASSUPS) would have to say on the matter.  
  
"Dropper insulted both of us." Snape hissed.  
  
"We'll get even, somehow." Sinistra added, patting his shoulder with her hand. "Hey, don't you have a class?"  
  
Snape nodded and then it suddenly occurred to him that he was in Aurora Sinistra's room, sitting on her bed and she was wearing her nightclothes. If anyone one was to see the pair of them like this they could make some big and improper assumptions.  
  
"I should be going!" He leapt to his feet as though scalded.  
  
"Uh, good idea. Shouldn't keep the students waiting." Aurora added, "Shall we discuss this during dinner this evening?"  
  
Snape nodded and almost ran out the door. The Bloody Baron, who had followed Snape and had been listening by the open door the entire time, barely had time to float through the wall before the Potions Master charged past him and down the stairs.  
  
To be continued 


	9. Part 9

A Fluffy-sized THANK YOU to everyone who has commented so far ~ Andolyn, anonymous, Aurumlupi, Beccs, Becky, Bluemeanies, Chrystal Sphere, Countess Gemina, emma, finmagik, fyrephoenix, Jessica C. Malfoy, JJ, Katherine aka Star, Lataradk, laylin, LilyAyl, lise, llarian, LunaDaisy, Mohs, MongolianPrincess, Nomad, Normandie M, Nyarth Kyukon, Opalescent Margarine, Pinkpanther, princess of mordor, ProfSnapeFan, Sayan, Sev's Girl, Skyfire, summersun, Tess, The Pen of Power, TJ, Unicorn Lady , Unstopable Writer of Dreams, vu, whisper, and wmlaw. I appreciate the encouragement and all your comments - both positive and negative. I just hope I can keep you all laughing.  
  
Yes, this is a very silly story and it will continue to be silly. Poor Snape needs a laugh after all the angst he's been through between JKR, Voldemort and the fans. :) It's time he had a chance to fall over his own feet for a change.  
Kazza  
  
P.S. Llarian -right idea but wrong Shakespearian play. Hint. Hint. ;)   
  
  
Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Hogwarts and its characters are not mine and never will be. This is for fannish amusement only. No copyright infringement of any sort is intended.  
  
  
Wizard's Honour  
  
--------------------------------  
Part 9  
--------------------------------  
  
"What are you up to, your old phantom?" Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington drew himself to his full spectral height in the hallway and glowered down his ghostly nose at the Bloody Baron. Behind Sir Nicholas, the Fat Friar attempted to appear equally stern and instead gave the impression he had otherworldly indigestion.   
  
The Bloody Baron raised his left eyebrow and hissed menacingly through his teeth.  
  
"Yes, very scary I'm sure," said Sir Nicholas in an offhanded manner than hid his fear of Hogwarts' oldest ghost. "You haven't answered me. What did you do to Professor Snape to make him run like that?"  
  
"Go away," hissed the Baron.  
  
"We are staying right here, thank you very much, until you answer us." Sir Nicholas crossed his transparent arms and gave the Baron his best 'You've been a very naughty First Year' stare.  
  
"Us?" the Baron whispered.   
  
Nearly Headless Nick looked over his shoulder just in time to see the Fat Friar disappearing around a bend in the corridor as fast as his ectoplasm could carry him. Sir Nick's courage was disappearing as quickly as the ghostly monk had and he was about to follow the Friar's example when his thoughts of flight were interrupted.  
  
"Yes, my lord Baron!" The Grey Lady proclaimed as she swooped out of an open doorway. "I have had enough of this improper behaviour of yours. Exactly what is going on?" She drew her fan from her sleeve and flicked it open. "Would you prefer to tell us or the Headmaster?"  
  
The Bloody Baron glared at the Grey Lady. Both the Lady and Sir Nicholas, who was 'bravely' hiding behind her, glared back at the Baron.  
  
"You would not dare?" The Baron scowled.  
  
"You would doubt my will to do so?" The Grey Lady closed her fan with a snap.  
  
"No, wench," the Baron snarled. "But it would be your word against mine." The Baron turned and floated through the ceiling.  
  
"Wench?! Wench?!" she screeched in very unladylike manner. "So be it!" The Grey Lady turned.   
  
"Come, Sir Nicholas," she said in a very McGonagall-like tone. "We have to speak to the Headmaster."   
  
"Must we?" Sir Nicholas asked quietly. He winced as the Lady's ghostly fan was thrown in his face, knocking his head sideways. "Owww!"  
  
"Now!"  
  
"Yes, milady." Sir Nick sighed, pushed his head upright, handed the fan back to the Lady and followed her down the corridor.  
  
-----------  
  
"Now, using the main telescope is a privilege that comes with a great responsibility," said Sinistra firmly to the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years. "That is why you have only used the smaller telescopes until now. This is a delicate piece of equipment that specialist Wizard Astronomers took years to create and enchant. I do not want to find any more sticky fingerprints on it, like after your last class." She shot a stern look at Crabbe and Goyle who looked embarrassed and wiped their hands on their robes.  
  
"You must be sure to always align the telescope's lens to the correct angle and in the correct combination so that you may see through the afternoon clouds. As I have told you all before, daytime observations are complex. The different lenses compensate for different types of light and cloud. It is no use using a Storm lens for a Cumulous - "  
  
Sinistra looked towards Lavender Brown who was waving her arm in the air. Lavender was notorious for not paying attention and, thought Aurora, had probably lost track of the class after five seconds.  
  
"Yes, Miss Brown," Sinistra said tetchily.  
  
"Parvati and I want to know Professor," Lavender giggled, "is Professor Snape a good kisser?"  
  
Sinistra stared speechless at Lavender until Hermione Granger's muttered 'Lavender, you idiot', Seamus Finnegan's 'she must be mad', Ron Weasley's 'yuck, I feel sick' and Draco Malfoy's 'just you wait until Professor Snape hears about this, Brown' comments broke though her shock.   
  
"How dare you?" Aurora snapped at the girl.  
  
Lavender squeaked and leant back in her chair as the Astronomy Professor charged up to her.  
  
"This is a classroom not a place to gossip and read 'Witches Weekly'," Sinistra wrenched the magazine from under Lavender's textbook and threw it onto the floor. "Or for discussing your teachers' personal lives, which are none-of-your-business. Five points from Gryffindor for your insolence and be glad it's not ten times that!"  
  
Lavender and Parvati sniffed and silently watched their suddenly very strict and scary Astronomy Professor.  
  
"And," added Sinistra, "it will be five more points each if you don't start paying attention in class. Understood?"  
  
The girls nodded and Sinistra stomped back to the large Magical Telescope in the centre of the room.  
  
"The same goes for anyone else who mentions any teacher's private life or their opinion of it." She added, "From either house." Draco Malfoy, who was smirking at the Gryffindors, suddenly wiped the smirk off his face.  
  
"Where was I?" Sinistra asked the class.  
  
"Cloud lenses, Professor Sinistra." Harry Potter said quietly.  
  
"Right!" With one last glare at Lavender and Parvati, Sinistra continued to lecture the class on the correct use of the six different cloud lenses in Hogwarts' Magical Telescope.  
  
If Professor Sinistra had thought she'd silenced the speculation with her outburst she was wrong. Very wrong.  
  
-----------  
  
That evening in the staff meeting room just before dinner an unusual event was occurring. Unusual for Hogwarts that is.  
  
When Alastor Moody had taken over as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, with Penelope Clearwater as his assistant teacher, he had brought with him the tools of his Auror's trade and also the vices he'd picked up along the way. Unlike someone else who had used his name, Alastor Moody's vices were quite minor. A liking for admiring pretty women and the occasional bet.  
  
"I should not allow this, you know Alastor," Albus Dumbledore said quietly as he examined the piece of parchment that lay on the table beside a small pile of coins.  
  
"Come on, Albus, It's only a bit of fun." Moody said gruffly.  
  
"Please Professor," Sprout added. "We mean no harm."  
  
"Very well," Dumbledore replied. "But if this all goes wrong it's your responsibility to fix it Alastor."  
  
Moody nodded.  
  
"What is it this time?" Dumbledore picked up the list of odds and read it silently.  
  
5 to 1 Snape runs  
  
2 to 1 Sinistra runs  
  
3 to 1 Sinistra kills him  
  
2 to 1 They kill their relatives and call it quits  
  
150 to 1 They fall in love and stay married  
  
3 to 1 One of them resigns  
  
5 to 1 Both of them resign  
  
2 to 1 It's all a joke  
  
2 to 1 Snape poisons her.  
  
3 to 1 Snape kills her, not poisoning. Note - death by kiss doesn't count  
  
4 to 1 They stay married and hate each other  
  
1000 to 1 They fall in love, marry, Snape's hair is perfectly clean every day, they have a child in a year and Sinistra wins the Astronomer of the Year Award  
  
50 to 1 One of them elopes with someone else  
  
  
"That's not very nice, Alastor," Dumbledore handed the parchment back to Moody. "Don't let the students see it."  
  
"Oh." Moody said gruffly. "By students would that include the Prefects?"  
  
Dumbledore blinked and put his hands on his hips.  
  
"Get rid of it, Professor Moody." Dumbledore said sternly. "Give everyone their money back and destroy that list and any others like it."  
  
"But, Albus, it's only the Slytherins!"  
  
"I'm not arguing with you Alastor. Do it! Between you and the Bloody Baron this place is becoming a mad house! The Slytherins are a quarter of the student population of this school. How do you expect to get their respect if you insult former Slytherin students like this? Not to mention fellow teachers?"  
  
"Sorry, Albus," Moody muttered and set fire to the parchment.  
  
"Was that the only copy?" Dumbledore demanded.  
  
"Yes, I only ever have one copy."  
  
-----------  
  
At that very moment in the Potions classroom a Slytherin Prefect was handing Professor Snape a Quick Quotes Quill copy of the list.  
  
To be continued 


	10. Part 10

Oops - apologies for the partial posting. This should be correct now. K  
  
Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
--------------------------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 10  
--------------------------------  
  
"Sinistra is a quitter! Sinistra is a quitter!" Peeves chortled and stuck him tongue out at the flustered Astronomy Professor who was scampering down a staircase.  
  
"Go away, Peeves. I'm not in the mood for this and I'm late for dinner." Sinistra glared at the poltergeist; Peeves was the last in a long line of disasters in a terrible day she'd rather forget.  
  
"Sinistra is a coward!" chanted the annoying little being. "Sinistra's got a man and won't keep him! Is slimy old Snakey not good enough for you?"  
  
"That does it! I am not a quitter or a coward!" The Astronomy Professor fired a dissolution spell up the staircase. The spell barely missed the poltergeist and hit a vase of flowers, which dissolved into dust. Peeves screeched and fled through the floor of the landing and through the wall beneath.  
  
From his vantage point three floors above, the Bloody Baron watched the Astronomy Professor continue on her way, muttering under her breath. The Baron suspected he had made Peeves push Sinistra a little too far. The dissolution spell was a powerful attack on a poltergeist and could have reduced Peeves to a mere ghoul. The Baron was surprised by the strength of her attack. He had rarely seen so powerful an anti-spirit spell used in the corridors at Hogwarts and certainly not by one of the staff.  
  
The Baron stroked his ghostly chin with a bloodstained hand and smiled. The spell had missed and perhaps he had found a gap in the young woman's armour. He needed to find a way to push her even after Dumbledore told the Slytherin teachers what he, the Baron, was up to.   
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
By the time Sinistra reached the Great Hall she was in an even fouler mood. Peeves had reminded her of the incident in the Teacher's Meeting Room and how Snape considered her unworthy of him. The pain of Snape's insults had merged with the anger and humiliation of the day and the Astronomy Teacher was close to throwing an industrial-sized tantrum.  
  
"Not that I want to marry the arrogant, snobby, annoying, uptight, cold, bossy, manipulative git anyway!" Aurora snarled as she neared the entry to the Great Hall. She stomped the length of the Great Hall to the Staff Table, scowling at anyone who spoke to her, and dropped onto her chair   
  
Professor Snape, who had saved a place for Sinistra beside him for the discussion they'd agreed to have, decided that it was not a good time to discuss the Teacher's betting club or anything else for that matter.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Work and excellent Astronomical viewing weather conspired against Snape and Sinistra. They still had not discussed their situation when, three days before Christmas, the goalposts were moved.   
  
Again the news came in 'The Daily Prophet' but this time it was Sinistra who found it in the Public Notices section.  
  
~~ Public Announcement from the Ministry of Magic. Use of the Wizards Honour Law of 857 AD, amended.  
  
Recent use of the Wizards (sic) Honour Law has shown that some members of the General Wizarding Community (WGC) may have a misunderstanding use of the said law. The WGC appears to believe that a declaration of Wizards Honour constitutes a marriage. This is not true. ~~  
  
"Yes!" Sinistra hissed. She glanced quickly around the staff breakfast table to check if anyone had heard her, before she returned to her reading.  
  
~~ The Wizards Honour Law was amended in 1923, in recognition of the Wizard-Muggle Marriage Laws and the Witches Equal Rights Act of 1864. The amendment means that a declaration of Wizards Honour is no longer an instant marriage but is now seen as a betrothal contract. Under the revised law anyone declaring Wizards Honour can only become married in the following ways:  
  
1. The parties marry in the conventional Wizarding or Muggle fashion;  
  
2. During the three month contract 'cooling off' period both parties sign an agreement to the marriage (MoM form 4593) and submit it to the Ministry;  
  
3. At the end of the cooling off period the parties declare in a public place that they are married willingly and sign a declaration to that effect (also MoM form 4593) in front of an appropriate official of the WGC. In this case both parties must be seen to be free of the Imperious Curse and no replications or substitutes (eg. Polyjuice potion users, Golems, etc) are allowable. ~~  
  
"As if I'm likely to do that," Sinistra muttered into her breakfast cup of triple strength espresso coffee.  
  
"Pardon?" Professor Flitwick asked cheerfully. The Charms Professor was almost always cheerful at breakfast and especially so this close to Christmas.  
  
"Nothing important, Professor," Sinistra replied. She found herself stuck in conversation with the little Professor and breakfast was finishing before she could get back to reading the 'Daily Prophet'.  
  
~~ Contrary to popular belief, cancelling of a Wizards Honour Contract is a simple process. Both parties must complete and sign a 'Revocation of Wizard Contract Agreement (MoM form 4596) within six months of the activation of the contract. This form can not be signed after any of the three marriage processes listed above occur. ~~   
  
"Aurora, my girl, your backside is out of the fire." Sinistra grinned and read the rest of the announcement, which included the name of Ministry Official to contact for the forms.  
  
"I take back every bad thought I've ever had about the Ministry," Sinistra said happily as she gave the very surprised Professor Flitwick a quick hug.  
  
"Oh, whatever you say my girl." Flitwick sat stunned for a moment. A worrying thought popped into the little Professor's mind and he hurriedly looked around the room for the Potions Master. Snape was nowhere in sight and Flitwick, relieved that he wasn't going to be hexed, heaved a huge sigh of relief.  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"It's traditional," Professor Sinistra thought, two hours later, while she walked swiftly down the stairs to the dungeons. "You have to be there. Just stay calm and smile until you can talk to him about the contract."   
  
"Professor." Snape was standing by the entry to the Slytherin common room. He greeted her with a cool nod. Sinistra tried to nod back equally as coldly and failed.  
  
"We're free!" she whispered to him and waved the news-scroll under his nose. Snape squinted at the parchment that was nearly hitting him on the nose. He took the parchment from Aurora and quickly read the cancellation paragraph she had circled.  
  
"Nice Christmas present, huh?" Sinistra grinned.  
  
"Promising." Snape replied, "But it is inappropriate to discuss it at this time." Sternly, he waved her into the common room. Sinistra clicked back into 'well-behaved junior Professor' mode and did as she was bid.  
  
Snape scanned the room with his eagle-like stare. The room was full of all the Slytherin students who stared back at him. Only a few students, the ones who had lost points for the House during the last few months, glanced away as he looked at them.  
  
"So far this school year Slytherin House has won and lost many points." Snape glanced at the first year students who had lost the house 100 points a week earlier by damaging one of the greenhouses with an exploding flowerpot. The culprits paled under the Housemaster's stare and shuddered when their fellow students scowled at them.  
  
"I expect that you will gain more points for Slytherin when you return from the Christmas break," Snape continued in his quiet cold voice, "and you will do your utmost not to lose any."  
  
"Yes, Professor," the students chorused. Sinistra knew their good behaviour would not last to the next day but she couldn't fault the students for that. Most Hogwarts' students were mischievous and Slytherin teenagers were doubly so.  
  
One of the Prefects led the students in a House cheer. "Slytherin, Slytherin, we are the best! Slytherin, Slytherin, we flatten the rest!"  
  
Snape smirked at the cheers then clapped his hands. Plates full of warm fruit-mince pies and mugs of mulled Butterbeer appeared on the table that sat in the middle of the room.  
  
The students cheered again and Draco Malfoy added, "Three cheers for the Professors." Both Professors were a little embarrassed but accepted the cheers willingly.  
  
At a sign from Snape, the students attacked their special pre-Christmas treat. Snape and Sinistra watched them munching the pies for a few minutes.  
  
Snape led Sinistra into a corner of the room where they could talk freely. He was just about to ask her about the Ministry of Magic notice when he heard a sound from above him. Something was counting loudly.  
  
"10."  
  
"9."  
  
Sinistra looked up and said, "Oh damn!"  
  
"8."  
  
"Ooooh, you haven't got long Professors," chortled Pansy Parkinson.  
  
"7."  
  
Snape stared up and snarled at the counting bundle. "I am not doing it," he thought angrily.  
  
"6."  
  
"No," Sinistra thought. "I've just worked out how to get rid of him. I'm Not Going To Do This."  
  
"5."  
  
"Better hurry up, Professors." Draco Malfoy added. "You don't want slime all over you."   
  
"4."  
  
"Who ever put Enchanted Exploding Flying Mistletoe in here will be on a week's detention." Snape said loudly. The students all stared innocently back at him.  
  
"3."  
  
"Oh darn it," thought Sinistra. "Well, I'm just going to have to get slimed. I refuse to kiss him."  
  
"2."  
  
"These are my best robes," muttered Snape.  
  
"1."  
  
Snape grabbed Sinistra and kissed her firmly on the lips. The Slytherin Common Room exploded in cheers as the Enchanted Exploding Flying Mistletoe exploded streamers around the room.  
  
"Oh dear, it seems someone brought the wrong type." Draco drawled. "It certainly looked like a slime one."  
  
To be continued 


	11. Part 11

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
--------------------------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 11  
--------------------------------  
  
Severus Snape prided himself on his clear, logical, sensible-if-pessimistic view of the world. To the Hogwarts' Potions Master, magic and life were to be analysed and controlled as he saw fit; while emotions were to be ignored or used against others to achieve his means. Above all, Snape believed that skill, working creatively within the rules, common sense and guile would get him through any situation.  
  
It was unfortunate then that the logical, clear thinking, sensible part of Severus Snape's conscious mind closed down the moment he began to kiss Aurora Sinistra.   
  
Of the few parts of Snape's mind that were functioning, one did have enough sense to recognise that screaming 'yippee' in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room might not be the best idea. Instead his mind contented itself with enjoying the kiss and ignoring the way Sinistra was punching Snape's chest and kicking his shins.  
  
At the same time, Professor Sinistra's mind was functioning perfectly normally, if a little fuzzily form lack of oxygen. She came to realise, two minutes into the kiss that stopping it was going to be her responsibility. That was easier said that done, for Sinistra's waist was held in a very firm grip by the bemused Potions Master.  
  
The Slytherin students were cheering wildly when Sinistra grabbed Snape by the shoulders and pushed him away from her, breaking their kiss. Snape staggered back a few paces and stared up at the streamers. He missed seeing Sinistra run from the room.  
  
"Wow! Three minutes eleven seconds!"  
  
"Way to go Professors!"  
  
"Was he using gillyweed or something?"  
  
"I'm betting on the 'or something'?"  
  
"Here, is that a new teacher's record?"  
  
"Don't ask me, Goyle. Prefects don't keep that kind of information."  
  
"As if I'd believe that."  
  
"Believe what you want, Malfoy."  
  
Slowly the students' comments leeched into Snape's brain and began to kick-start his mind.   
  
"What in the name of Merlin did you do?" Snape's conscience screamed at him. Severus ignored his conscience with the expert ease of years of practice and unleashed the rage that was suddenly bubbling up within him onto the students.  
  
"That's enough." Snape scowled around the room. He noticed that Aurora Sinistra was no where to be seen.  
  
"Who set the Mistletoe loose?" Snape said in icy tones.   
  
The students fell silent. They had often seen Snape angry but his icy anger was rare even in Slytherin House.  
  
"If I do not find out who did this before Christmas I shall keep the entire House back one hour on the next Hogsmeade weekend. Am I understood?"  
  
The students remained silent but nodded their understanding.  
  
"Finish your food," Snape snarled and glided out of the room. He wondered why he was feeling so angry. He was still wondering two hours and a dozen smashed-and-repaired potion bottles later.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Merry Christmas, my dear." Edgar smiled cheerfully at his great-niece and bundled her into the warm parlour in his little cottage. Edgar waved his wand and sent Aurora's suitcase floating upstairs before he returned to sit in his overstuffed chair by the fire.   
  
"Didn't you bring your young man?"   
  
"No, Uncle Edgar." Aurora sighed. "He's not my 'young man' and he's not here. Professor Snape is spending his Christmas at Hogwarts."  
  
"I see." Edgar said cheerfully. "Oh well, maybe next year."  
  
"Not likely," muttered Aurora mutinously. She had been trying to avoid thinking of Snape all day and especially since she'd left Hogwarts without facing him.  
  
Sinistra wasn't sure what the Slytherin students had put in the Enchanted Exploding Flying Mistletoe but whatever it was poor Snape had obviously got a full dose of it. She hoped the man had recovered his senses and his dignity by now.  
  
Aurora sighed again and stared into the fire. Perhaps if she was a bit braver and a lot less embarrassed she would have checked that Snape was all right. Although, she had done her duty and told Dumbledore what had happened. The Headmaster had behaved strangely, muttering something about Moody and the Baron before he'd granted her permission to leave Hogwarts a day early.  
  
Edgar Greenwood watched his great-niece continue to stare into the fire. He bit back a smile when she sighed for the third time since her arrival and asked, "Did you tell him he was invited?"   
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Professor Snape? Did you tell him he was invited?"  
  
"No." Aurora replied. "He's been very busy." Aurora stomped on the memory of how Snape had been occupied under the mistletoe and the thought that he was a surprisingly good kisser. She concentrated on the way he'd insulted her in the Staff Meeting Room and had soon quashed any warm feelings she had towards Professor Snape.  
  
"If I had invited him he might have poisoned you," she said sternly.  
  
"I see," Edgar paled and quickly changed the subject to the antics of Minum, his budgerigar.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Well, hello there," Hagrid grinned down at a large, scruffy black dog which sat outside Hagrid's hut. "Come to spend Christmas with Harry, have you Snuffles?"  
  
Sirius 'Snuffles' Black nodded his head, wagged his tail and thought, "Amongst other things."  
  
To be continued 


	12. Part 12

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
Author's notes - THANK YOU, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!! I appreciate all your comments and encouragement.   
  
--------------------------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 12  
--------------------------------  
  
Ilaurio whistled a cheerful tune as he meandered up the path to the tiny house. He rang the bell that hung from a tree near the door.  
  
The curtains in the front window moved.  
  
Ilaurio waved and called, "Signora Snape, someone has sent you a present." He put a small wooden box on the ground by the tree. "Merry Christmas, Signora!" He waved at the gap in the curtain and wandered away, whistling the same cheerful tune.  
  
The young man was out of sight of the cottage when the front door of the tiny house opened and a very elderly lady stepped out into the garden. If Neville Longbottom had seen Medusa Snape he would have thought that the Boggart he and his class had destroyed in his third year at Hogwarts had moved to Sicili.  
  
Dressed in a long, old-fashioned dark blue dress and a large navy blue hat and the wearing sneer she'd bequeathed to three generations of Snapes along with her hooked nose, Medusa Snape prowled over to the wooden box.   
  
She prodded the wooden box with her walking stick. Nothing remarkable happened. This was concerning as the box bore her great-grandson's handwriting. Medusa wondered what fiendish trick he'd decided to play on her after the poison pen episode.   
  
The old witch considered her options. She could call Ilaurio and ask him to open the box. No, that would not do. She quite liked the young Medi-wizard and would rather not lose his trust.  
  
She could, she supposed, send for the local Aurors or one of the retirement village's orderlies but damaging Aurors and orderlies would cause a fuss and she would not like to be thrown out of this retirement village too.  
  
No, Medusa decided, she would have to do this herself.  
  
The old witch stepped well clear of the box and fired an opening spell at it. The seal on top of the box curled back and the box fell open with a thud.  
  
"Happy Christmas," cheered three tiny, shrill voices. Three Cornish Pixies shot out of the box and jumped onto her hat. They danced the Macarena around the brim while Medusa swore fiercely at them, using words that would put Mad-Eye Moody to shame.  
  
She didn't think they could get any cuter when they began to sing, squeakily, "Deck the witch with Christmas lights, fa la la la la la la la la."  
  
Growling, Medusa swiped her wand at the chewed and broken string of tree-lights the Pixies were trying to wrap around her ears and nose. With another swipe of her wand and a few very clearly enunciated words, Medusa popped the Pixies back into the box and resealed it.  
  
It was then that she noticed the slightly mangled note lying on the ground. It had fallen out of the box when it was opened.   
  
Unwilling to touch the paper, Medusa levitated the note and flicked it open with the lazy ease of someone with over a hundred year's magical experience.  
  
"Dear Great-Grandmother Medusa," she read.   
  
"You complained that you missed three years of Christmas and Birthday greetings. I am sure the occupants of this box will provide you with ample entertainment on both occasions.   
  
"Thank you for signing the contract. I will not forget it. Severus."  
  
Medusa scowled Snapishly at the letter. What did the boy mean 'I will not forget it'? Was he threatening her, he thanking her or being sarcastic?   
  
Wishing that Severus wasn't so like her late husband and son, both of whom could confuse her daily, Medusa slipped the note into the small string bag that hung from her belt.  
  
"I can not wait until his birthday to get even," Medusa said quietly, "that's eleven months away." An idea occurred to her and she smiled wickedly, "But Valentine's Day is only seven weeks away."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"So, is your bride as bad as 'The Daily Prophet' would have us believe, Severus?" Lucius Malfoy asked in a smarmy and insincere drawl. "Or is she worse?"  
  
Snape glowered at the untouched contents of his goblet then replied, coldly, "Whatever I say will amuse you Lucius so I shall say nothing."  
  
Malfoy glared at the younger man and thought of one of the many ways he could rid himself of Snape. He allowed himself a few moments of silent enjoyment before he extinguished any idea of killing someone as useful as the Potions Master. Malfoy knew that when he succeeded in taking over Voldemort's empire he'd need the skills of an expert poisoner and there were few poisoners alive who were as good as Snape.  
  
While the power-hungry Malfoy was thinking this, Snape was wondering why he had bothered to answer the summons to Malfoy's estate on Christmas Day. It seemed to Severus that he'd been summoned to relieve Malfoy's boredom. Aside the wine, which Snape wasn't going to drink in case it had been poisoned, all Snape had received in the three hours since he had arrived was an earful of 'when I rule the world' rambling and a lot of insults.   
  
Ten minutes later Lucius finished another mad daydream, this one involving himself and the reinvention of the title Caesar, and sipped his wine again. He finally noticed that Snape wasn't drinking and began to wonder if the wine had been poisoned.  
  
"What are you up to?" Malfoy demanded hotly.  
  
"Chestnuts," Snape murmured.  
  
"What?"  
  
Snape blinked as his own daydream of a breakfast of roasted chestnuts followed by a Hogwarts Christmas Luncheon and a mostly-sane conversation with Albus Dumbledore disappeared from his mind.  
  
"Nothing important. Just last Christmas." Snape sneered in what he hoped was a convincing fashion and gulped a mouthful of wine. "Merlin's teeth," he thought, "I hope that wasn't poisoned."  
  
"You may go now," replied Malfoy, relieved that Snape had drunk some wine and probably hadn't poisoned him. Malfoy continued speaking, his tone giving Snape the impression of a King dismissing a flea, "I have important guests arriving this afternoon and I don't want you sulking around."  
  
"Thank you so much, Your High-and-Mighty Ego-ness," thought Snape while he said, coldly, "Of course." Snape walked into the garden and apparated. It wasn't long before he reapparated outside the gates at Hogwarts.  
  
With shaking hands, Snape pulled a bottle of all-purpose anti-poison potion and took a swig. It wasn't a strong cure but if he had been poisoned it should take the edge off it.  
  
From the gates Snape could see some of the students who had stayed over Christmas walking in the castle grounds. He knew then that he'd missed Christmas lunch and suddenly he couldn't face the idea of being near all that Christmas cheer.  
  
At that moment he wanted something or someone to yell at and some hot food. Only one person came to mind.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Aurora sat on the old bed in her room in her uncle's cottage and read the Revocation of Wizards Honour Contract form for the ninth time. She had to admit it; her plan was no good. She couldn't stop the contract without the details from the contract scroll and Severus' signature.  
  
"Darn it," she threw herself onto her back on the bed. It creaked in protest but she ignored it and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"This should be so easy." She sighed melodramatically, "Why isn't anything ever easy?"  
  
"Aurora!" Edgar bellowed from downstairs.  
  
"Yes, Uncle?" Aurora yelled back while she rolled up the form and tucked it into her sleeve.  
  
"You have a visitor."   
  
Aurora didn't like the quiver of fear she heard in her Uncle's bellow. She drew her wand and quickly left the room. She hurried downstairs and charged into the little parlour.  
  
Professor Snape was seated in her uncle's chair and was eating one of the chestnuts that had been roasting on the edge of the fire.  
  
Aurora relaxed and said firmly to her uncle, "It's only Professor Snape. From the way you were yelling I thought Voldemort and all his cronies were having a party in here."  
  
Edgar spluttered at her use of The Name but said nothing.  
  
"No," Snape said, dryly, "the party's the week after next."  
  
Aurora collapsed into giggles at the thought and at the relief of having someone to talk to who wouldn't ply her with rich food and budgie tales. She was laughing so hard that the parchment she had shoved up her sleeve fell loose and floated to the floor.  
  
"What's that?" Edgar asked, coming out of his stupor.  
  
"Just a bit of scrap parchment," Aurora replied airily.  
  
Snape grabbed the parchment before Sinistra could summon it to her. He read the title and noted that Aurora had completed most of it. Snape wasn't sure it he should be pleased or angry that she'd shown the initiative to contact the Ministry.  
  
"Yes, just a bit of rubbish." Snape tossed the parchment onto the fire and watched it burn.  
  
To be continued 


	13. Part 13

--------------------------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 13  
--------------------------------  
  
'Pop'. 'Pop'.  
  
Snape barely waited for Sinistra to apparate beside him before he opened the gates and strode onto the Hogwarts grounds.   
  
Behind him Aurora shivered in the late afternoon breeze and pulled at her short skirt. She gave up tugging at the cloth, there was no way the skirt was going to reach to top of her knee high boots and she didn't have time to try to remember a clothing alteration charm. Instead quickly cast a warming charm on the air around her knees.  
  
"What are you doing? Must you always keep me waiting?"  
  
Aurora shot a quick glare at Severus. He was standing, with his arms crossed and left foot tapping, ten yards into the grounds. She quelled the urge to hex him and picked up her small suitcase.  
  
"My knees were cold. I didn't have time to change before we left."  
  
"And whose fault is that?" Snape bickered. He turned on his heel and strode away.   
  
Sinistra didn't bother to reply. She jogged to catch up to the Potions Master and hoped that he wasn't so angry that she'd lose her job and her best friend.  
  
They walked in silence for close to five minutes, when Sinistra's curiosity finally got the better of her.  
  
"Why did you burn the form?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Why did you throw the bird cage at me?" Snape replied coldly.  
  
"You know why! I told you." She stepped in front of him, forcing him to stand still, and poked him in the chest with her finger. "You started it!"  
  
"You," Snape pulled her hand away from his chest and held onto it so she couldn't use it on him again, "got us thrown out!"   
  
"We wouldn't have been chucked out if you hadn't ducked!" Aurora shrugged, "Anyway, the stupid bird was only slightly singed."  
  
"I did not know your uncle was that powerful."  
  
"Yes, well." Aurora blushed as she recalled the summoning spell her uncle had cast to pull the birdcage out of the fire and the powerful healing spell he'd used on the tiny bird. She looked down and realised that Snape was still holding her wand hand. She tugged hard and pulled her hand free of Snape's grasp.  
  
"You still haven't answered my question. Why did you burn the - arrrggghh!" Sinistra jumped a foot in the air, dropped her suitcase and spun around.  
  
A huge black dog stood in front of her.  
  
Sinistra was pulling out her wand when Harry Potter came running up.  
  
"Hello, Professors," the boy said warily.  
  
Snape, who was recovering from having a suitcase dropped on his right foot, yelled, "What is he #!~&*!$ doing here?"  
  
"Is this your dog?" Sinistra demanded at the same time, her wand aimed between the huge animal's eyes.  
  
"Yes, he doesn't bite."  
  
"Answer me, Potter," snarled Snape while he limped menacingly towards the boy, "what is that creature doing here?"  
  
"Professor Dumbledore gave permission for him to stay over Christmas." Harry replied.   
  
Sinistra didn't like the unspoken defiant 'so there' in the boy's attitude. He lacked respect for his teachers, that one. Giving a child that mischievous a huge dog was just asking for trouble.  
  
"Then why haven't I seen him before now?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Snuffles has been staying with Hagrid, Professor."   
  
Snape growled at the boy and Snuffles snarled at Snape.  
  
"Are you sure he doesn't bite?" Sinistra asked again, her gaze fixed on the huge dog.  
  
"He's never bitten me, Professor."  
  
Aurora heard Severus mutter, "That means nothing." Snape limped off towards the hospital wing.  
  
"Just keep him away from me," Sinistra told Harry firmly. She picked up her suitcase. "I'm warning you, Harry. If he licks my leg like that again I'll hex him into next week. Got it?"  
  
Harry nodded and watched Professor Sinistra run after Professor Snape. As soon as the Professors were out of hearing range, Harry turned on Snuffles.  
  
"Sirius," he hissed, "how could you?!"  
  
The big dog sniggered wheezily.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Once the Professors were out of hearing range of Harry, Snape stopped walking and grabbed Sinistra by the shoulders.  
  
"Uh, sorry about your foot, Severus." Sinistra squeaked, "It was an accident."  
  
"Forget my foot. Listen, we don't have a lot of time." Snape looked around to see if they had an audience then let go of her shoulders. "Before Christmas you told me you wanted to fight? Is that still true?"  
  
"I thought we were fighting."  
  
"Not each other." Snape sighed, "Them."  
  
"Yes. Of course." Sinistra looked up at him. "But how?"  
  
"Good." He smiled coldly, "I have a plan. But first there's something I have to tell you."  
  
~~~~~  
  
By the time Snape limped into the door to the hospital wing he had told Sinistra all about Moody's bookmaking and the list of odds. They parted at the door, Snape went to have his broken foot bones healed while Sinistra went up to her room in the Astronomy Tower.  
  
Sinistra had a lot to think about. Snape had told her that he'd burned the revocation form to stop her great-uncle discovering that they meant to cancel the contract. He had said that it was because he didn't want to have to fight her uncle.   
  
Yet, Aurora had seen a twinkle in Severus' eye after their fight in the cottage and she was beginning to suspect that he'd burned the form so he could fight with her. But that would mean that Severus hadn't told her the whole truth.  
  
"Come to think of it," thought Aurora, "why didn't he tell me about Moody's betting straight away? Just what is he up to?"  
  
Aurora entered her room determined to take advantage of Severus' plan and discover everything Snape had kept secret from her.  
  
To be continued  
  
  
Authors note: thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter (arcee, Normandie M, wmlaw, Lataradk, bdwrm, Leila C. Snape, LunaDaisy, et al).   
I've posted some more as soon as it was typed up - apologies if I've left any mistakes in it.  
  
Lataradk,  
You don't want to be near the Snape family when they get together. That's how Medusa got thrown out of her previous retirement village. :D  
Lucius daydreamed of five Veelas waving palm-leaf fans, feeding him grapes and doing uh, um, other stuff =)  
As to 'or something else' from chapter 11 - have you ever exercised and discovered muscles you'd forgotten you had? Well Snape's discovered hormones he forgot he had. :D 


	14. Part 14

--------------------------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 14  
--------------------------------  
  
"Any other issues?" Snape asked imperiously, the Slytherin House Head Teacher was in his element chairing the two person staff meeting.  
  
"I've had to strengthen the anti-boy wards on the girl's dormitory twice this week." Sinistra handed a piece of parchment to Snape. "Those are the wards that were damaged."  
  
"They were attacked from both inside and out?"  
  
"Yes." Sinistra pointed to a ward halfway down the list. "This one was only slightly disabled by a badly miscast counter spell. Which," she grinned, "I suspect explains why Mr Goyle now has green hair."  
  
"I will deal with Mr Goyle." Snape returned the parchment to Sinistra.  
  
"I haven't discovered the identity of the girl but," Sinistra replied, sarcastically, "as there are only four girls in the dormitory at the moment and three of them can't stand him, I have a strong suspicion I know who it is."  
  
"Let me know instantly if you find any more damaged wards." Snape was amazed at how stupid some of the students could be. They didn't even have enough sense to wait until all the students are back at school so they could hide their identities.  
  
Sinistra put the parchment into a pocket in her robes and dug another list out of the top of her boot. She opened the parchment, leant towards Snape and whispered, conspiratorially, "Any ideas?"  
  
Snape gazed for a moment at Sinistra's copy of Moody's new list of odds. The ex-Auror had done just what Snape had guessed he would. Moody had reasoned that Dumbledore hadn't banned him from running a betting ring, only from using one particular list. So, Moody had restarted his book as soon as he'd handed everyone's money back and created a new list of odds. The only differences between the new and old lists were the order of the odds and the colour of the ink and parchment.  
  
The same Slytherin Prefect who had given Snape the first list had provided Snape a copy of the second one on Boxing Day. That evening, Sinistra had managed to suggest to one teacher and two students that she had attempted to kill Snape, which was why he had to spend Christmas night in the Hospital Wing. Moody had paid out on two '3 to 1 Sinistra kills him' bets before he realised that Aurora was joking.  
  
The look on Moody's face was priceless when he realised not only had he given away money but the two winners didn't want to return their winnings.  
  
In the four days since then, the two Slytherin teachers had been avoiding each other in public and biding their time; waiting for the right moment to strike again.  
  
Snape steepled his fingers and pondered the list. There were so many possibilities on the list for a bit of mayhem and revenge.   
  
"Number nine?" Snape suggested.  
  
"One of them elopes with someone else," Aurora read silently. 'That could be interesting,' she thought, 'but whom would they use?'  
  
"If you're going to suggest Hagrid and I-" Aurora said mischievously.  
  
The disdainful sneer on Severus' feature briefly slipped into a smirk. The insane idea of the small and wiry Sinistra eloping with the gigantic Care of Magical Creatures teacher was so amusing that Snape almost laughed.  
  
"Perhaps," the Potions Master said oilily, "Sirius Black would be more your style?" Snape hadn't told Sinistra the identity of the Harry's dog although he'd been sorely tempted when Aurora had mentioned how the dog had licked her leg. He wanted to be present when she eventually discovered Snuffles' identity; Snape had a suspicion that it would be Black who would be spending some time in the Hospital Wing then.  
  
"An unwashed, half-mad, homicidal Gryffindor?" Aurora shuddered. "Ugh! I'd rather elope with Flora Sprout!"  
  
Snape smirked again and Aurora decided he was having too much fun at her expense.  
  
"How about you and Sybill Trelawney?"  
  
The Potions Master paled and spluttered, "No!" Severus shuddered inwardly at the thought of spending any amount of time with the insect-like Professor Trelawney. The Divination teacher was clingy, indirect and transparently manipulative, far from Snape's image of the ideal woman.  
  
"No?" Sinistra asked overly innocently, knowing full well that Trelawney spent half her time downstairs trying to convince Snape that the stars had decreed their romance and battering her mascara-drenched eyelashes at the Potions Master.  
  
"Imagine all the fun you could have discussing your fates?" Sinistra grinned wickedly.  
  
"Forget number nine. We will use that one." Snape stabbed a long finger at the list then wiped his warm forehead with his hand.  
  
"Where and when, Sev?" Aurora asked calmly. She saw him scowl and added, "-erus." Snape suggested a time and place for the start of their ruse and a few basic details of how they would make it work.  
  
"Eeep!" said Aurora, when she glanced at her watch. "I've got to run, Sev, if I'm going to make my next class in time." She stood up and patted him on the shoulder in a sisterly fashion before she hurried out of the room.  
  
Severus stared after her then felt his forehead again. He pulled a potion bottle from his pocket and drank deeply from it. The cool liquid ran down his throat, leaving him with a calm feeling that was shattered moments later by a loud hiccup.  
  
He was scowling at the bottle when he realised something. The annoying woman had shortened his name again.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Shoo!" Sinistra waved her hands at the huge dog that stood on the staircase between the third and fourth floors. "Come on, you're not supposed to be in here. Out!"  
  
The dog stood its ground and stared unblinkingly at her.  
  
"Look," Sinistra said in a sweet, gentle tone, "I have to get to class you stupid, ugly mutt and I need to get past you." She smiled encouragingly and tried to guide the dog off the stairs.  
  
"Move your backside or I'll hex you," she added in a saccharine sweet tone. Aurora knew the dog couldn't understand her. It didn't matter what words she used to the dog so long as the tone was right.  
  
Snuffles sat down on the stairs and ignored her.  
  
"Have it your way!" Aurora muttered. She cast a levitation spell on the dog and floated it out over the edge of the staircase. The dog did not seem to be happy to be floating four floors above the ground.  
  
"Next time, move when I tell you to," said Sinistra as she lowered the dog onto the second floor landing. She jogged up the staircase, which moved once she'd stepped off it, stopping the growling dog from following her.  
  
"Serves you right, Sirius," whispered a voice. "You have to learn when to give way."  
  
Snuffles turned to see Nearly-Headless Nick floating out of the wall. 'Ha,' thought Sirius, 'if anyone in Hogwarts didn't know how to give way it was Sir Nicholas. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.' Snuffles sniggered, 'Or should that be the ghost calling the dog Black?'  
  
"The Grey Lady and I," said Sir Nicholas, patently ignoring the strange doggy laughter, "are working to ensure Professors Snape and Sinistra do not marry. Would you like to help us?"  
  
Snuffles grinned.  
  
"I thought you might." Sir Nicholas smiled.  
  
To be continued  
  
  
  
  
Authors Note - Thank you again to everyone who commented. I appreciate the comments and the encouragement. Sorry this part took so long. The next part should be up tomorrow.  
  
If any of you remember the 'Wacky Races' cartoon, Snuffles laughter sounds just like Muttley's wheezy laugh. 


	15. Part 15

--------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 15  
--------------  
  
The doors to the Hospital Wing slammed shut. Poppy Pomfrey looked up from her desk and caught sight of Professor Snape in the hallway outside her office.  
  
"Can I help you, Professor?" Poppy asked in her formal 'School Matron on Duty' voice.  
  
"I believe I am ill." Snape replied his expression one of acute embarrassment.  
  
"Come and sit down, Professor." Madam Pomfrey led Snape to a chair and shut the door to her office. "Now tell me what is wrong. You were quite well when I treated your broken foot."  
  
"I have been feeling out of sorts for some time." Snape said coldly, then his cold, professional manner was broken by the sound of a loud hiccup.   
  
"Excuse me." He continued, "For a few weeks I have been experiencing a strange feeling of euphoria, sudden hot flushes accompanied by an increased heart rate, 'hic'." Snape muttered, "excuse me," before he added, "and an unusual feeling of calm."  
  
"And the hiccups?"  
  
"I have had those on and off since Christmas."  
  
"What have you been taking?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.  
  
Snape pulled the bottle from his pocket. "Pick-me-up Potion."  
  
"Really!" Madam Pomfrey sighed dramatically and said sharply. "Professor, that potion is a milder but longer acting version of Pepperup Potion."  
  
"I do know that," said Snape sarcastically.  
  
"Then you should also know that it should not be used for long periods of time. When used by perfectly healthy people it produces hiccups." Madam Pomfrey glared at him, "I do wish you wouldn't quack yourself. You should know better than that, Professor."  
  
"Are you saying that I am perfectly healthy?" Snape demanded; he ignored the comments about his behaviour.  
  
"The hiccups confirm it."  
  
"But I'm sick!" Snape snapped at her.  
  
Madam Pomfrey bit on the inside of her lip and fought the urge to make an obvious reply to the Potions Master. She knew her expression must have given her thoughts away when Snape suddenly said, "Ill. I am ill."  
  
Madam Pomfrey nodded sagely.  
  
"Professor," she said, "your condition is similar to the symptoms I see in a number of students each year. Only last week a fifth year Ravenclaw came to see me sure he was dying."  
  
"Who was he?" demanded Snape. "If he was contagious -" Snape stood up and began to pace across the room.  
  
"Professor, really! There is nothing -"  
  
"Do not tell me there is nothing to worry about." Snape continued pacing, his mind full of questions. What if whatever he had was contagious? He could have given it to anyone. What if he'd infected Aurora? He had seen her less than an hour ago.  
  
"You haven't infected her." Poppy said quietly.  
  
"What? How did-?"  
  
"It's what almost every 'victim' asks me." Madam Pomfrey guided Snape back to the chair and pushed him into it.  
  
"I want you to listen carefully, Severus." She said in a motherly tone. "What you have is not contagious in the conventional way, although many people wish it was. You are perfectly healthy and no less sane than you were six months ago."  
  
The Potions Master was about to interrupt her and tell her how uncomforting her behaviour was when Pomfrey said, "Severus, you are in love."  
  
Snape opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't say a word. He wanted to snarl at Madam Pomfrey, to tell her she was insane, that she should have performed hours of torturous tests on him and found him to be suffering something with a long unpronounceable name, but he was in too much shock.  
  
He was still sitting silent and stunned when Poppy Pomfrey pushed a cup of freshly-made sugared tea into his hand and ordered him to drink it. His mind finally began to work and talk to his brain, which had been getting bored with the silence.  
  
Part of Snape's mind readied itself to speak. Ironically, it was the same part of his mind that he'd ordered to be silent under the mistletoe.  
  
The School Matron sat back in her chair and smiled when a broad, goofy grin spread across Severus' face and he shouted, "Yesss!"  
  
A moment later the grin disappeared and Snape said firmly, "You never saw that."  
  
"Never saw what, Professor Snape?" Poppy replied dryly.  
  
"Thank you." Snape muttered.  
  
"Severus," Poppy looked the Potions Master square in the eye. "Don't hurt her and don't hurt yourself or I shall be very angry with you. And I don't think you've ever seen me Very Angry."  
  
"You sound like Albus." Snape said quietly.  
  
Poppy blushed at the compliment and watched Severus stand and walk towards the door.  
  
"Professor."  
  
He turned.  
  
"You are under patient confidence and I shall not say a word. I am happy for you. If anyone deserves some happiness it's you."  
  
"Thank you." Snape murmured and, on his second try, opened the door and left the room.  
  
Poppy waited until he had left the Hospital Wing before she allowed herself to succumb to girlish giggles.  
  
"Wizards!" She shook her head, "No idea at all!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
While Professor Snape was sitting stunned in his office, the school ghosts were scheming in their separate groups, and the house elves were preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, Professor Sinistra was holding a tutorial class for the Ravenclaw students who had stayed at Hogwarts over the Christmas break.   
  
Sinistra set the students a task - the observations Professor Trelawney had requested that morning - and sat back to observe them at work and daydream.  
  
The Astronomy Professor was looking forward to the dinner. She had already come up with a number of insults to fire at Professor Snape for the trick they were going to pull on Moody and his friends.   
  
Aurora smiled wickedly. She was going to have a lot of fun making everyone believe that the engagement was a joke and she hated Snape. A lot of fun, indeed.  
  
to be continued 


	16. Part 16

Author's Note - THANK YOU!!! Um, sorry, pardon the screaming. Thank you for your comments. I'm so glad that my story's giving you a giggle or three. Much as I like angsty-Snape stories I just love finding a way to use his deadpan humour and have some fun.  
This chapter will answer some of your questions about the last one and, hopefully, keep you smiling.  
K  
P.S. Sorry for taking two weeks to post this chapter. I had a battle getting everyone back into character.  
  
Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 16  
---------------  
  
"Darn!" Aurora muttered. 'Why,' she thought, 'didn't I realise this earlier?' She finished getting dressed and stared at her reflection in her tower bedroom mirror.  
  
It was one hour to the New Year's Eve dinner and Aurora had just realised that convincing everyone that Snape and she were joking was not the end of the matter.  
  
"You're losing your edge." Sinistra told her reflection firmly. "How are you going to get yourself out of this mess if you don't keep you wits about you? Hmmm?"  
  
Her reflection gazed silently back at her.  
  
---------------  
  
"Grrrrr."  
  
"I say, he's got a posy."  
  
"Ssssh!" The Grey Lady hissed at Sir Nicholas and Snuffles. The trio peered out the gap between the partially open door of the unused classroom and the doorframe. Silently they watched Professor Snape climb the uppermost marble staircase on his way to the Astronomy Tower.  
  
"This is a grave turn of events, gentlemen." The Grey Lady said when the Potion's Master was out of sight. "If I am not mistaken, Professor Snape is paying suit to Professor Sinistra."  
  
"Deuced unfortunate," Sir Nicholas replied, then hurriedly said, "Your Pardon for swearing in your presence, my Lady."  
  
The Lady nodded politely.  
  
"Grrrr. Rowwwlf. Grrruuffl."  
  
"If you wish to partake in the conversation, Wizard Black," said the Grey Lady, "kindly do so in human form."  
  
Snuffles was ignoring the female spectre and was staring at the far wall of the classroom. He growled again then barked when the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar floated through the wall.  
  
"Spying, my lord Baron?" The Grey Lady stared imperiously at the Ghostly Knight. "No doubt loathsome behaviour of that ilk caused your transmogrification into your spectral form."  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Sir Nick scratched his ghostly forehead. "His what did what?"  
  
"Spying made him a ghost." The Fat Friar replied. Surprised, everyone looked at him. "What?" The Friar looked at his stunned audience. "Hufflepuffs do have brains, you know."  
  
"You are playing a dangerous game, my Lady," hissed the Baron. "No one crosses me and survives."  
  
Snuffles snorted and the Fat Friar muttered, "Uh, Baron, I don't think that will scare someone who is dead."  
  
"She knows what I mean," hissed the Baron, darkly. "Interfere any more with the Slytherin Professors and I will have you banished from Hogwarts." The Baron turned on his ethereal heel and floated back through the wall.  
  
"Oh dear me, oh dear me," muttered the Fat Friar while he followed the Baron.  
  
"My Lady, we should stop this now." Sir Nicholas said cajolingly. "The Bloody Baron's threats should not be taken lightly."  
  
Snuffles nodded his agreement.  
  
"No! Who died and made him King Ghost of Hogwarts?"  
  
"Uh, he did?"  
  
"No," the Grey Lady stamped her foot, which made no sound. "I shall stop Professor Sinistra from making a grave mistake. She is half Ravenclaw and that excludes her from the Baron's ban." She crossed her arms and floated quickly through the ceiling towards the Astronomy Tower.  
  
"Except that she was sorted into Slytherin and hired as a Slytherin Professor," Sir Nicholas yelled after her.   
  
"Deuced females. Can't exist without them, can't exorcise them." He shrugged and walked out of the open door, Snuffles trotting at his heels.  
  
---------------  
  
Professor Snape knocked on the door to the Astronomy Professor's private quarters and waited. 'Why,' he scolded himself, silently, 'are you nervous? It's only little Aurora Sinistra for Merlin's sake.'  
  
Aurora opened the door and looked up at Snape. He watched, momentarily tongue-tied, as she stared at the small bunch of flowers he held in his hand. After a few moments she smiled.  
  
"Clever idea, Severus." She pulled the flowers from his unresisting grasp. "But shouldn't you have waited a few days and given them to me in front of someone to make it more believable?" She turned before Snape could reply and walked into the room.   
  
Severus Snape scowled. This wasn't going as he had planned, he was supposed to give the flowers to her not have her take them from him. He'd have to check his reference material when he got back to his quarters but he was sure that was what was supposed to happen. And why in the world did she want witnesses?  
  
"All right." Sinistra said bossily, "I've been thinking and -" She turned back towards him. "What are you doing out there? Come in here and listen to what I have to say."  
  
"Do I have a choice?" No woman was going to nag Severus Snape if he had anything to say about it.  
  
"Uh, sorry. Was I nagging?"  
  
Snape raised his left eyebrow and gave her his, well-practiced and honed on first year Gryffindors, yes-that's-exactly-what-you-were-doing sneer number three.  
  
"Oh." Sinistra blushed very slightly then said brightly, "Good, that'll make it all the more believable."  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Snape prowled up to the woman who over the last weeks had annoyed and frustrated him more than just about anyone ever had, including Sirius Black and the Weasley twins.  
  
"If we are to make this work we have to know more about each other." Sinistra replied. "Otherwise we won't be able to convince anyone that we're serious."  
  
"What are you talking about, woman?" Snape winced inwardly at the acidic tone in his voice. He hadn't meant to sound like that but her words were so darn confusing.  
  
"Moody, of course." Sinistra stared up at him. "We have to convince the gamblers that the whole Wizards Honour thing is a big joke. Then, we have to convince everyone that we are serious so that Moody knows he's lost his money."  
  
"No!" The word escaped before Severus could stop it.   
  
"No? Why not?"  
  
Snape thought quickly, he had to come up for a reasonable explanation for his outburst. He didn't want her to know it was because he was disappointed in her response. She might work out how he felt about her and he wasn't ready to surrender that piece of information.  
  
"I've changed my mind about the bet." He said hurriedly.  
  
"I thought that was a woman's right." Sinistra smirked then fell silent when Snape glared coldly at her.  
  
"The odds for the 'It's All A Joke' wagers are merely 2 to 1," said Snape, warming to the idea that had suddenly occurred to him. "We want to make Moody really suffer, do we not?"  
  
"Yes." Sinistra replied, warily. "You aren't going to permanently hurt him are you, Severus?"  
  
"No." Snape smirked. "We are going to make him have to pay out on a 150 to 1 wager."  
  
Sinistra pulled the list of odds out of the top of her boot. "150 to 1," she muttered as she scanned the list.   
  
"What!" She yelled as she found the entry. "Are you sure, Professor Snape?"  
  
"Positive." Snape said calmly.  
  
"But - but -." Aurora sat down abruptly on the floor. She stared up at him. "Severus, isn't this playing with fire?"  
  
Snape bit back a smirk and glanced down at her. "For a woman who throws occupied birdcages into fires you appear to be surprisingly squeamish about a mere trick."  
  
"I wouldn't call 'fall in love and stay married' a mere trick!"  
  
"But Professor, we aren't legally married so there is nothing to concern you. We simply have to convince Moody that we're in love and staying together." Snape took hold of her hand and pulled her to her feet. "And," he added silently, "I can convince you to really marry me in the process."  
  
"Why do I have the feeling that this is a bad idea," Aurora whispered under her breath. "A very bad and dangerous idea."  
  
To be continued 


	17. Part 17

Disclaimer - see part 1  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 17  
---------------  
  
The New Year's Eve Party was in full swing. Three of the school tables and the teachers' table had been moved to the sides of the room. The few students who had stayed for Christmas and New Year's and the teachers and their spouses had shared one table.   
  
The meal had finished half an hour ago and most of the students and some of the teachers were dancing to the music provided by an enchanted piano. The Hooches were showing three pairs of First Years how to dance a waltz.  
  
Snape sipped Albanian Ice Wine from his goblet and counted the number of students in the room. All present and accounted for. Good, he didn't feel like chasing down misbehaving students tonight. He reached for the wine bottle and refilled his goblet.  
  
"Where do they get their patience?" Sinistra commented.  
  
Snape followed the direction of her gaze and watched Desmond and Rolanda Hooch calmly separate a clump of squabbling First Years. Desmond's warm laugh, full of sunshine and Jamaican spice, echoed across the room.  
  
"Ugh! Imagine waking to that much joy each morning," Sinistra winced.  
  
"Are you trying to make me ill?" Snape sneered.  
  
"No." Sinistra looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. She need not have bothered; they were alone at one end of the long table.  
  
"Severus," she said in a serious and slightly bossy tone. "If we are to make this work we have to know more about each other."  
  
"In what way?" Snape smirked, he was slightly tipsy and feeling a little light headed.  
  
Sinistra shot him a quelling glance. "Is your favourite comfort food still Shepherd's Pie?"  
  
"Oh." Snape cleared his throat. "Yes."  
  
"With beef, not shepherds?" Sinistra's eyes twinkled.  
  
"Yes." Snape sipped from the goblet again. "Is your favourite food still Toad in the Hole?"  
  
"Yes," Aurora replied. "With sausages, not toads."  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow at her for stealing his line and fell silent. He sipped some more wine and returned his attention to the dancers. Aurora waved her wand and sent the wine bottle floating down to the other end of the table.  
  
"Nag." Severus murmured under his breath.  
  
"Ursus." Aurora replied.  
  
Snape shot her a 'I beg your pardon' look.  
  
"My favourite constellation."  
  
They watched the dancers for a while. The piano was now playing a foxtrot and the First Years had started inventing dances to the music. Desmond and Rolanda Hooch had left the children to their own devices and were dancing expertly around the room.  
  
Sinistra was about to comment about Ravenclaw show-offs when Snape said, "Wolfsbane is my favourite potion."  
  
"Very difficult to make, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes." There was more than a touch of pride in the Potion Master's voice.  
  
Aurora considered asking Severus why he had spoken out against Lupin when he could have had a reason to keep making the potion if Lupin had stayed. But one look at the almost-relaxed expression on his face decided her against it.  
  
"The funniest thing I ever saw," Aurora whispered a minute later, "was Minerva McGonagall and Flora Sprout as drunk as house-elves on gin whizzes and flirting with a poor man who was young enough to be the son of either of them."  
  
"Do tell." Snape leant close to her.  
  
"It was in the Three Broomsticks. The poor boy was trying to run from them but each time he got away one of them would cast 'accio cutesy' and he kept going back to them." Aurora giggled. "They kept it up for two hours until Professor Flitwick turned up and sent them back to Hogwarts. He gave me an earful too, for not doing anything."  
  
"What? And spoil the fun of watching them hung over the next day?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
They sat in companionable silence for a while. The dancing had stopped and some of the teachers had started organising a party game.   
  
Snape and Sinistra both contrived to be looking away when McGonagall called for volunteers to police the game. At the other end of the table, Albus Dumbledore hid his smile behind his hand and watched the Slytherin Professors out of the corner of his vision.  
  
The game was well under way. Goyle and Ron Weasley were throwing insults at each other, which didn't appear to be in the rules of the game, when Snape said quietly, "I will tell you the funniest thing I ever saw if you promise never to repeat it without my permission." He was looking at the game as he spoke.  
  
"I promise." Aurora grinned. "Spill it."  
  
"But it is such good wine." Snape replied.  
  
"Ha, ha. Come on, tell me."  
  
"It was Lucius Malfoy." Snape whispered into her ear.  
  
"Malfoy? Draco's father?"  
  
"Imagine yourself at Malfoy's mansion receiving a lecture on the way to behave in the presence of the next ruler of the universe from Mr Ego Malfoy himself." Severus whispered.  
  
Aurora snorted and nodded, a broad grin plastered across her face.  
  
"Imagine him wearing traditional Wizard robes and pacing around the room," Snape purred, "a glass of expensive wine in his hand and a look of superiority on his face."  
  
"Yes, then what?" whispered Aurora, her eyes bright as she waited for the punch line.  
  
"And then imagine that you notice that his robe is caught up at the back." Severus' lips twitched as he fought the urge to grin.  
  
"You don't mean?" Aurora giggled, "He had his dress caught in his undies?"  
  
"Worse than that." Severus looked at her and gave into the grin. "His underpants had cartoon Hinkypunks hopping across them."  
  
"Hin-ky-punks?" Aurora gasped.  
  
"Yes," Snape said in a strangled voice. He cleared his throat and, fighting for control, said, "They were waving and had little," Severus gasped, "little rainbows floating out of their lamps." He clapped his hand over the broad grin that threatened to split his face.  
  
Aurora, who was now laughing, said breathlessly, "Hinkypunks! Who would have guessed? I wonder why he keeps them 'undie-cover'?"  
  
"No, don't," gasped Severus breathlessly.  
  
"How can you keep a straight face around him?" Aurora grinned and whispered, "I wouldn't be able to do it. All I'd be able to think would be 'Here Comes Lucius, High Lord of Hinkypunks. All yea wave and hop before me'."  
  
"Stop it!" hissed Snape from behind his hand.  
  
"I wonder," Aurora said, overly-innocently, "if he ever does become Ruler of the Universe will he make his minions wear Hinkypunk undies too?"  
  
Severus looked her in the eye and then burst into wild giggles.   
  
The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at the Potions Master who was resting his head on the table and howling with laughter.  
  
"Oops," Sinistra grinned at to Dumbledore who had walked over to see what was going on. "I think I broke him."  
  
To be continued 


	18. Part 18

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 18  
---------------  
  
"What did you say?" Alastor Moody roared.  
  
"Please, Professor Moody," the Grey Lady floated away from the ex-Auror. "Kindly keep you temper in check."  
  
"Are you telling me that Snape and Sinistra know that I'm running a book on them?" Moody roared. "Are you?"  
  
"That is what I heard in them say in the Astronomy Tower on New Year's Eve." The Grey Lady said, tartly. "They were discussing which bet they were going to try to fool you with next."  
  
"So why did you wait a week to tell me? How long have you known?" Moody yelled.  
  
"Please Professor," Penelope Clearwater's firm but gentle voice broke into the conversation. "Think of your health."   
  
"They know." Alastor roared. "They bloody know!"  
  
"Professor, please, your heart." Penelope glared at the Grey Lady as she tried to calm the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.  
  
"Don't look at me! It's not my fault," the Grey Lady swooped out of the room, muttering about "the deplorable behaviour of teachers this century".  
  
"So that's how it is, is it?" Moody grabbed the glass of water Penelope pressed into his hand and drained it with one gulp. "Those damn Slytherins think they can pull the wool over Alastor Moody's eyes. Well, three can play at that game."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Albus Dumbledore looked over the top of his half-moon glasses and pondered the expression of the man seated in front of him. The object of his scrutiny looked harried, frustrated and confused by something. Albus had seen the man in many states before but confused was a rarity.  
  
The Headmaster pondered using a subtle approach to the issue for all of two seconds before he said, "Are you going to tell me what is bothering you, Severus, or do I have to guess?"  
  
"My life is a mess." Snape said morosely.  
  
"Dear me, it must be bad." Albus bit back a smile. "You sound just like Sirius Black."  
  
"No doubt." Snape replied absent-mindedly.  
  
Surprised, Professor Dumbledore blinked and stared at the younger man. It was obvious that Professor Snape was in a terrible state if a comparison to Sirius Black got almost no reaction.  
  
"My dear boy, whatever is the matter?"  
  
After a brief hesitation, Snape began to speak. Dumbledore sat back in his chair and listened to the whole sorry story. Severus told him about the ghosts and how they'd tried to set Sinistra and himself up and about how the two Professors had managed to avoid being alone in the hallways. He told of Alastor Moody's revived betting ring and how Aurora and he had outsmarted it. He explained about the things that the two of them had done to their relatives in revenge for the Wizards Honour contract. And how they'd both tricked Snuffles and the teachers.  
  
"I had noticed something of the sort," Dumbledore said quietly. "But why the sad face, Severus? It strikes me that Aurora Sinistra and yourself have schemed your ways into weeks of entertainment at others expense."  
  
"Yes," muttered Snape.  
  
"And did you enjoy outsmarting all those people?"  
  
"Yes."   
  
Albus sighed. The Hogwarts' Potions Master, Head of Slytherin House and Albus' chief Dark Arts expert and assistant spy-master was sitting in front of the Headmaster looking as depressed as Neville Longbottom the night before his end of year exams. It just wouldn't do. Dumbledore needed Snape to be mature, sane and slightly less depressed if the man was to be of any use to the cause.  
  
"Severus," Albus said as nonchalantly as he could manage, "how long have you been in love with Aurora?"  
  
"How did -?"  
  
"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and one of Britain's oldest and wisest Wizards." The Headmaster's eyes twinkled and he added, mischievously. "Also, thanks to the thousands of teenagers who have attending this school in my many years here, I can recognise a young man who is truly in love. Doubtless I could do so blindfolded from a distance of two or three miles through a snowstorm, if need be. It was obvious on New Year's Eve that you are seriously smitten."  
  
Snape tried to come up with a clever response then shrugged. "Since before Christmas." He groaned and sat back in his chair. "I have tried to ignore it but the feeling will not go away. It is most inconvenient and annoying."  
  
"And illogical and frustrating," Albus said. Snape nodded.  
  
"And wonderful." Albus added, lightly, then pretended not to notice the way the younger man suddenly moved in his chair. "Why don't you just accept it, Severus?"  
  
"I did! I do!" Snape stood up and began pacing around the Headmaster's office. "But I can't get her to believe that I'm serious!"  
  
"Oh, I see." Albus fought to keep the laughter out of his voice. The last thing Severus Snape needed at that moment was for his mentor to laugh at his embarrassment. "What have you done so far to court her?"  
  
"I consulted an authority on the subject and gave her flowers." Snape looked very embarrassed now, although to someone that did not know him well his expression would seem to be one of mild irritation. "She laughed at them. Thought they were part of the act we were doing for Moody's benefit. So I checked my reference material and then sent her chocolates. She accepted them but told me later it was 'a wonderful joke'."  
  
"And what authority did you consult?" Albus knew he shouldn't enjoy himself at the younger man's expense but he couldn't resist asking.  
  
Snape muttered something and paced away from the Headmaster.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Albus asked after Severus had turned and started walking towards him.  
  
"'Witches Weekly'." Snape snapped. "I confiscated it from Lavender Brown."  
  
Albus tried to stop himself from laughing and failed miserably. Snape stood in front of the desk and scowled darkly at the chortling Headmaster then threw himself back down onto the chair, which creaked in protest.  
  
"Severus," said Albus, when he had control of himself. "'Witches Weekly' is an excellent reference guide for love-struck young witches and overly romantic housewives however, it is patently inadequate to cope with the love life of, how shall I put it, a mature couple with Dark tendencies."  
  
"Well, I am sorry," snarled Snape sarcastically, "but 'Lord Voldemort's Matchmaking For Beginners' was not in the @#$&!%$ library."  
  
"I think it is time we both had a cup of tea." Albus excused himself and spent more time than necessary making the tea. When he returned, Severus had regained control of his emotions and he quietly apologised for swearing "like Sirius Black after three glasses of Fire Whisky".  
  
"Severus," Dumbledore said as he poured the tea and levitated a biscuit off the plate before him, "you must tell her how you feel and you need to court her in your way."  
  
"My way?" Snape caught the biscuit and the cup of tea that were levitated to him and placed them on the table. "What is my way?"  
  
"That is for you to work out, Severus." Albus picked up a biscuit and nibbled it. "Although, may I suggest," he said solemnly, while his eyes twinkled merrily, "that flowers and chocolates should not be attempted."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You think you're clever, don't you?" Moody hissed in a low threatening tone.  
  
Aurora Sinistra peeked up at him. She had been on her way from lunch, a meal that Snape and Dumbledore had mysteriously missed, to the first of her classes for the day when Moody had stopped her in the hallway. He looked furious.  
  
"No more clever than any of the teachers here." Aurora replied in what she hoped was a gentling tone.  
  
"Oh yes you do, young Miss Astronomer." Moody hissed. "You and that potion stirring friend of yours thought to spoil my fun. Well I'm on to you miss and so help me if you cost me any more money with your games I'll have you locked up in Azkabhan faster than you can say 'Slytherin tart'."  
  
Aurora, who had been threatened by experts for most of her life, waited politely for Moody to finish his rant. She was about to give him a critique of his insult and explain how he could improve it when they were interrupted.  
  
"I say, that was uncalled for and most ungentlemanly." Sir Nicholas' voice wafted down the hallway. Snuffles bounded along behind him.  
  
"You're supposed to be a Gryffindor," growled Moody. "Why are you being nice to a Slytherin?"  
  
"I'm not being 'nice'," Sir Nicholas said, archly. "I am reprimanding a gentleman who should know better than to threaten a lady."  
  
"Peacock!" A guilty expression washed over Moody's features, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. The old man turned on his clawed foot and clomped off down the hall. He stopped and the end of the hall and yelled, "And get rid of that darn dog! It shouldn't be here." Then he clomped on around the corner and out of sight.  
  
"Well," Professor Sinistra sighed, "that's torn it. No more fun." She sighed again and thought, "How depressing. And just when Severus was doing such a good acting job too. He almost had me believing him."  
  
To be continued  
  
  
  
Author's Note - Thank you again, everyone, for your encouragement. With all that praise, I'll soon be as egotistical as Mr Hinkypunk-pants Malfoy himself. :) 


	19. Part 19

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 19  
---------------  
  
"My own way," Snape pondered silently. He sipped tea from the china teacup. "This will take some thought and planning."  
  
Dumbledore watched his protege. Amusement bubbled through the Headmaster as he observed the younger man's cool, controlled expression.   
  
Snape's expression reminded Dumbledore of when he had first discovered that his mercurial Potions Master liked everything in his life to be neat, organised, controlled and behaving exactly as he had planned. From that moment on, the younger man's behaviour had become almost transparent. Especially transparent, Dumbledore discovered, when Snape was confronted by chaos.  
  
Chaos had sent Snape running from the death eaters, frustrated him as a teacher, caused him to lose control of his icy facade when his world was turned upside down by the events after the Triwizard Cup, made him scream at Sirius king-of-chaos Black, and, was confusing him now. Albus knew that if anything would defeat Snape's refusal to express his emotions it was the chaos of love, especially if Albus had anything to do with it.  
  
Not that it hadn't taken Snape a while to get around to this point in his life.   
  
Albus could not believe two people as intelligent as Snape and Sinistra could be so senseless. For Merlin's Sake, he'd chosen Sinistra three years ago from a list of fully qualified Astronomers, all of them quite capable of teaching at Hogwarts. It had taken Severus three darn years to notice the other Slytherin teacher was a female who was younger than him, single, understood his macabre sense of humour, and had more things in common with him than not. What more did the man need? An instruction manual?  
  
Albus recalled the 'Witches Weekly' Severus had mentioned and bit back a laugh. Galloping Griffins, it appeared that Snape did need an instruction manual.  
  
"Severus," Albus said quietly, after he had composed his thoughts and controlled his mischievous sense of humour. "Have you considered that courtship is mixing two unidentified potions?"  
  
"What do you mean?" The Potions Professor leant forward in his chair and listened intently.  
  
"Well," said the Headmaster as he improvised madly, "With an unmarked potion you can usually identify the basic ingredients by observation. It is similar with a woman, for example you can tell at a glance that Professor McGonagall is a very different person to Madam Pomfrey even though they are of similar ages and general appearance."  
  
"With respect, Albus, I do not see how this aids me."  
  
"Think, Severus. Minerva McGonagall has a strict but fair manner, is known for being a little abrupt at times and can be overly self-critical. While Poppy Pomfrey is strict, warm and sometimes quite biased." Dumbledore smiled.  
  
"Really?" Snape smirked at the dreamy expression on Albus' face.  
  
"Yes, well," Dumbledore blushed slightly, and said quickly, "as I was saying, confronted with another personality, say Hagrid, they behave quite differently."  
  
"Yes, but how -."  
  
"Oh for Merlin's sake, Severus, stop being obtuse. You are a potion that can react badly to wolfsbane while Aurora is a potion containing a small amount of wolfsbane. The only way to mix you is to find the correct balance in the mixture, the right cauldron, a third potion you may require to make the mixture work, and the right temperature. Adding your 'Witches Weekly' advice to the mix is like handing the two potions to a First Year student and standing back."  
  
"I see." Snape said coolly. He held back from asking 'so why didn't you just say you're as inept as Neville Longbottom' and added, dryly, "So that's my way."  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning, half an hour before breakfast, all the Hogwarts' Teachers filed into the Teacher's Meeting Room. The sounds of scraping chairs and muffled yawns mingled with a light murmur of conversation. The voices became louder when the Hogwarts ghosts entered the room.  
  
Even Sinistra, who was fighting to stay awake on double strength coffee and barely an hour's sleep, woke up when the Bloody Baron wafted through her arm.  
  
"Thank you for coming to this extraordinary meeting." Headmaster Dumbledore's voice echoed around the room even though he spoke no louder than normal. "I know it is early and you all have much to do today, so I shall keep this brief."  
  
The conversation bubbled up again and Dumbledore raised his hand for silence.  
  
"I shall say this only once." Dumbledore looked around at the people in the room. "The childish and unprofessional behaviour that has been occurring amongst the teachers and the ghosts in this school shall stop now. I want no more gambling by anyone on Hogwarts grounds. That includes gambling by another name or in another colour ink or any other hair-splitting excuse you can think up, Alastor."  
  
Moody glared sulkily at Dumbledore and viciously at Snape and Sinistra.  
  
"Behaviour like that shall also not continue, Alastor." Dumbledore continued. He ignored the melodramatic expression of hurt on Moody's face and said firmly, "I want everyone to understand what I am saying. There will be no snide remarks about the personal lives of any Hogwarts teachers. It is difficult enough to fight Voldemort," Dumbledore ignored the winces by some of the teachers to 'the name', "without my teachers ripping themselves apart as well."  
  
Some of the teachers were beginning to look rather guilty. Hooch and Hagrid, who had kept out of the gambling, were nodding their agreement.  
  
"There will be no more practical jokes of a malicious or unprofessional nature nor will there be a Machiavellian plots. I especially refer to our non-corporeal inhabitants who have been behaving most irresponsibly." Dumbledore stared at the Bloody Baron who raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"I expect a lot more honesty and teamwork from the staff of this school. Bickering teachers do not make good mentors for their students. I do not want to hear any blaming or sniping from anyone on the faculty, whether you were involved in the incidents or not. That includes the Slytherin teachers. Am I understood?" Albus looked at his staff members who nodded like a class of First Years' caught eating sugar quills before dinner.  
  
"This situation is my fault as much as anyone else's. It should have been stopped long ago. It will stop now." Albus stared at the occupants of the room most of whom stared guiltily back at him.  
  
"One last thing. Creative interpretation of what I have said is unacceptable. A betting slate is a betting slate no matter what you call it or how it's recorded, Alastor. A plot is a plot Baron no matter who is behind it or how it works."  
  
"Now that the unpleasantness is over," Albus smiled at his staff, "I think it's time for breakfast."  
  
The large black dog that had been sitting just inside the Teacher's Room door, slipped out of the room and into the wide hallway.  
  
"Somedays," thought Snuffles, "being alive and not a Hogwarts staff member was a very good thing."  
  
"And just where do you think you're going?"  
  
Snuffles spun around at the sound of the all too familiar voice. Remus Lupin was standing in the middle of the hallway.  
  
"Don't give me that I'm-an-innocent-puppy look." Lupin said firmly. "The students have been back for a week and you're still here. Which means either, you are very stupid and you can't count the days of the week or you're taking advantage of a friend who had to deal with a full moon over New Year's." Remus waved his wand and a dog collar appeared around Snuffles neck. Another wave of the wand and a lead was added.  
  
"Whatever the reason," Remus continued his quiet nag, "your fun is up."  
  
Snuffles sighed dramatically as Remus led him away.  
  
To be continued  
  
  
  
Author's Notes -   
//Thump// That was me fainting after receiving 200 comments. All I can say is Thank You. I don't feel worthy of your attention but I do appreciate all of it.  
  
Please forgive me for not thanking all of you by name but I'd be bound to miss someone by accident and I don't want to do that.  
  
Re this part - I've made the assumption that Sinistra started working at Hogwarts in book 2, when Harry and Ron missed the sorting ceremony. Sinistra isn't mentioned by name until book 3 or 4. It also explains why she's quite young for a Hogwarts teacher in this story.  
  
As to specific comments -  
The Hinkypunks undies were originally going to belong to Voldemort but I realised the likelihood of Snape discussing Voldie's underpants with Sinistra was tiny. So the undies moved to Luci-baby Malfoy :)   
Although the idea of Voldemort wearing novelty underpants and being caught by the Death Eaters still has me giggling.   
"Wormtail, I told you to buy only the black ones with the little glowing dark marks! I never want Hinkypunks again, you cretin!"   
"But you bought them yourself," whispered Wormtail rebelliously. :)  
  
Accio Cutesy ~ haven't you noticed that very proper and strict people are often the most mischievous drunks? I think McGonagall would be a hysterical drunk. :)   
  
Polgara ~ 'That's torn it' or 'that has torn it' is a very old English expression for the irreversible end of something. 


	20. Part 20

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 20  
---------------  
  
Professor Sinistra had been tired and grumpy when she'd gone to the emergency staff meeting. Then Dumbledore's lecture about teacher behaviour had made her recall every cruel word Severus Snape had said to her weeks ago in that very meeting room. After the meeting, Sinistra had felt so tired, grumpy, angry and depressed that she decided to skip breakfast and go back to the Astronomy Tower.  
  
Aurora glared mutinously at the large pile of parchments that teetered precariously on her desk. Usually Sinistra enjoyed marking her students' work, especially when she found an assignment that showed the student had obviously not paid attention in class. The scathing comments and dire tortures she invented in her mind were a fun stress release, even though she wrote down calmer, milder rebukes. But coming up with punishments like leapfrogging Blast-ended Skrewts or washing Dementors' robes just wouldn't be fun today.  
  
She considered walking into her bedroom and transfiguring the parchment bin into a Snape-faced punching bag but decided it would take too much effort. So, instead she sat heavily on her chair and pulled a sheet of parchment out of her desk draw.  
  
The pile of students' parchments wobbled as Sinistra reached for her quill. When she began to write her letter, the pile of parchment scrolls tumbled off the desk and onto the floor. Sinistra muttered a few rude words and stared at the scrolls for a moment, then she shrugged and continued to write.  
  
A few minutes later, she summoned a Hogwarts owl, gave it the finished letter and threw the owl out the Tower window. She threw the owl so hard that it screeched and turned in the air to glower at her before it flew away.  
  
"Stupid bird!" Sinistra stomped across the fallen scrolls, making sure to step on as many as possible, and sat in the chair again. She scrawled a note on scrap of parchment, a mischievous grin plastered across her face as she wrote. This time she summoned a House Elf to deliver the note.  
  
"Is you sure you wants Winky to deliver this, Professor?" Winky looked at the folded and sealed piece of parchment and the name messily scrawled across it. "It's all blotty."  
  
"Yes," Sinistra sighed tiredly. "Just deliver it and don't argue, please."  
  
While Sinistra had been talking, Winky had levitated all the students' parchments off the floor and piled them tidily on the desk. Winky nodded at the clean floor, smiled at Sinistra and disappeared.  
  
"Clean freak," Aurora muttered. She glared, yet again, at the battered scrolls and stumbled off to grab a few hours sleep before the first Astronomy class of the day began.  
  
---------------  
  
The breakfast plates had just disappeared from the tables in the Great Hall when Winky entered it. She ignored the sounds of chairs scraping the floor and teachers reprimanding student for running in across the Hall, and made a beeline for her destination.  
  
Professor Snape was sitting at the Teacher's Table. He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed the little figure as it walked up to him. He took the letter Winky waved under his nose and watched the House Elf run from the room as quickly as she could.  
  
"Strange creature." Snape murmured. He opened the note and read it.  
  
~~ Professor Snape,  
You must be glad that this nightmare engagement will soon be over. I've owled the Ministry of Magic for another Revocation form. I will sign the form and bring it to you as soon as it arrives.  
  
So you won't have to worry about being seen with someone 'coarse, immature and visually unappealing', which I'm sure must be ruining your reputation.  
  
Sincerely,  
Professor Sinistra ~~   
  
Severus read the note a second time.   
  
"What," he wondered silently, "is she going on about now?" Something or someone had obviously upset her; insulted her badly by the tone of the letter. Severus tapped his fingers on the table. If he found out who had done it he'd kick them into next week.  
  
He was pondering a list of suspects, starting with the paranoid Mad-Eye Moody and ending with Colin Creevey, when the Knut finally dropped. He, Professor Severus Snape, was the one who had insulted her.  
  
Snape covered his face with his hands as his own words echoed through his memory, "Your manner is coarse, you have an immature attitude I cannot stand and, frankly, if I had to be forced to marry someone I would choose someone more visually appealing."  
  
"Sometimes," Snape whispered coldly to the empty room, "I am an absolute prat!"  
  
This time no ghosts wafted through the walls to agree with him. Snape was disgusted that his own behaviour had ruined the plan he was about to put into effect. He prowled across the room and stormed towards the dungeons to unleash his anger on the sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.  
  
---------------  
  
Later that day, Thadeus Assentor sipped his afternoon cup of tea and examined the contents of the letters that lay on the desk before him.   
  
Generally, Thadeus' job in the Wizarding Contract and Leases section of the Ministry of Magic's Law and Lore Division was very dull. Some days he didn't receive any correspondence, other days he received correspondence like the two before him that made up for every dull day of the week.  
  
Thadeus re-read his favourite paragraph of the first letter, which was written in sprawling, angry handwriting.  
  
~ I did have one of the revocation forms but it was burned at Christmas. Please don't ask; it's a long story involving an annoying potion maker and a budgie cage. ~  
  
Thadeus chuckled and wondered exactly what had happened with the budgie cage. He had a strong notion that the 'annoying potion maker' had something to do with the second letter. It wasn't so much the smell of cauldron fumes that emanated from the parchment as the Hogwarts owl that had obviously been fed a 'fly fast' potion that had delivered it.  
  
The second letter was written in a formal, rather old-fashioned style and in proper and spotless handwriting. The letter itself was dull and simply requested a copy of both the acceptance and revocation forms. It was the 'P.S.' that amused the middle-aged clerk.  
  
~ Post Script. Professor Aurora B Sinistra may have corresponded with the Ministry regarding this matter. If she had done so, I would appreciate it if you could delay your reply to her until I have received your correspondence and the forms. I believe that Professor Sinistra was overtired when she composed her request. ~   
  
Thadeus chuckled, "So, Professor Snape, you need help to fight your battles."  
  
Two Hogwarts owls were soon winging their way back to Hogwarts Castle, Ministry document tubes clutched in their talons. Included with the papers for Snape was a brief note explaining that the Ministry could not be seen to favour one party in a contract.  
  
Thadeus watched the owls fly away. He muttered, dryly, as one owl disappeared from sight, "Oops. I forgot to wait until the potion wore off."  
  
To be continued 


	21. Part 21

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 21  
---------------  
  
Snape poured a small dose of pepper-up potion down the throat of the exhausted owl that lay across his desk. The bird hooted weakly and fell asleep, steam leaking out of its ear-holes.  
  
Satisfied that the bird was alive and Madam Pomfrey would not be harassing him for committing cruelty to owls, Severus Snape opened the Ministry document tube.   
  
The Potions Master smirked at the note and unrolled the parchments. He almost laughed when he looked at the two forms. While the Revocation was close to two feet long and required ten separate pieces of information to be added to it, the Acceptance form was eight inches long and only required the signatures of Sinistra, Snape and a witness.  
  
"Bureaucracy," he murmured. "Finally something goes my way for a change." He rolled up the Acceptance form, grabbed a quill and a bottle of ink off the desk and dashed out of the room.  
  
Snape walked quickly up the silent staircase, his footsteps echoing through the still night air. The Bloody Baron glided silently up the stairs behind him.  
  
The old spectre followed the wizard until Snape reached the base of the last staircase.  
  
"I would prefer to not have an audience." Snape said quietly.  
  
"Do Slytherin proud, Professor." The Bloody Baron smiled kindly, a once-in-a-decade sight, and glided off back down the stairs. "Soon," thought the Baron, "I will be able to gloat at the Grey Lady as much as I want."  
  
---------------  
  
"All efforts to record the progress of the Giant's Eyeball Comet are of top priority." Aurora read from the note she'd received that day from the WASSUPS. "Locating is acceptable although personal viewing is preferred."  
  
"Good," Sinistra yawned. "I won't have to stay up for this." She stepped back from the telescope, tapped it with her wand and commanded it to Locate the Giant's Eyeball Comet. The telescope moved as it magically scanned the sky for the comet.  
  
The door to the tower room opened and Professor Snape walked in.  
  
"Oh, hello Professor Snape. I didn't expect to see you here so late." Sinistra said in a formal tone. "I need to finish setting the Locate and then I can talk."  
  
Snape nodded and walked to the window. He stared out at the Forbidden Forest. It appeared to Aurora that he was trying to see if anything nasty was sneaking out of it.  
  
Sinistra shrugged and returned to commanding the telescope. She set the telescope to record the movement of the comet on a charmed piece of parchment. Then, with a flick or three of her wand and a few charms, she cleaned up the room and pushed the viewing chair against the wall.  
  
"That's better." She popped her wand up her sleeve and, hoping she appeared calmer than she felt, turned to face Snape. After a moment he turned to face her and handed her a piece of parchment.  
  
"What is this?" Sinistra said as she took the scroll. She caught sight of the Ministry of Magic crest on the top of the scroll and winced. So it was over.  
  
"My apology." Snape replied.  
  
"Wh-at?" Sinistra opened the scroll and gasped as she read the words 'Wizards Honour Acceptance'.  
  
"That's a very big apology." Sinistra glanced up at him and then back at the parchment. Suddenly, all the angry thoughts she had towards Severus seemed to be so petty. Aurora knew exactly who and what Severus was and his insults were as much a part of him as his rare praise.  
  
"You deserve it." Snape replied.  
  
"I don't know what to say." Sinistra's thoughts were a jumble, although most of them recommended that she scream 'yes, yes, yes' loudly and jump up and down on the spot.  
  
However, before Sinistra had a chance to act, Severus walked up to her. He raised her chin with his hand and brushed his right forefinger over her lips.  
  
"I will leave you to consider my offer." He said quietly. "I shall wait on the stair for ten minutes. If you tell me you do not want this or you do not come out of this room within ten minutes then we will both sign the Revocation form." He swept dramatically towards the door and left the room, closing the door firmly behind him.  
  
The mood lasted for all of two seconds.  
  
"Someone's been reading the romantic advice section of 'Witches Weekly'," Sinistra chuckled, her hand clasped over her mouth to smother her laughter at Severus' uncharacteristic behaviour. She considered running out after him and then had another idea. She looked at her watch. "Hmmm, nine and a half minutes should just about do it."  
  
---------------  
  
Severus Snape shot the third glare in a minute up the staircase and at the door to the tower room. 'Damn woman,' he thought mutinously. He was so busy thinking dark thoughts that he didn't hear the tower door open.  
  
"Are you going to sign this thing or not?" Sinistra asked as she climbed down the stairs, the Acceptance form in her hand.  
  
Severus spun around and stared archly at her. "Will you always keep me waiting this long?"  
  
"You don't have to wait." Aurora replied calmly.  
  
"I shall wait if I want to." Severus replied.  
  
"Then I," Aurora smirked, "shall take joy in keeping you waiting." She turned and began walking up the stairs.  
  
"Typical astronomer," Severus quipped as he too climbed the stairs, "always seeing everything thousands of years late."  
  
"Typical Potioner," Aurora replied saucily, "always stirring up things you can't control."  
  
"Star gazer!"  
  
"Stew maker!"  
  
"Mosquito!" Severus reached the top step and smirked down at her.  
  
"Stick insect!" Aurora stepped into the room.  
  
"Door mouse!"  
  
"House Elf!"  
  
"You wish," Severus walked back into the tower room. He grinned, "Astrologer!"  
  
"Oh you-!" Aurora, who hated being called an Astrologer and not an Astronomer, slammed the door shut. She thought for a moment then grinned wickedly. "Lockhart impersonator!"  
  
"Budgie burner!" Severus smirked again. "I'm winning."  
  
"Potter fan!"  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Snape spluttered.  
  
Aurora walked up to him and, with a totally straight face, said, "Potter fan!"  
  
"I do not love Harry Potter." Severus replied fiercely.  
  
"I should hope not," Aurora smiled. "If you did you couldn't love me."  
  
"That's not in the rules of the game, Aurora."  
  
"What rules?"  
  
"You have a point there." Snape reached out and wrapped his fingers in her short mouse-brown hair. "Mosquito."  
  
"You've already used that one, Snake Lover." Sinistra ran one of her fingers along the edge of Severus' robe collar.  
  
"Do I see a pattern here? Veela!"  
  
Aurora chuckled, "I'm flattered. Caveman!"  
  
"I am afraid I left my bearskin cape in the dungeon." Severus leant forward and kissed Aurora on the forehead.  
  
"You forgot to insult me." Aurora said huskily. "And you missed my lips."  
  
"Damn. Oh well," Severus smirked. "Practice makes perfect."  
  
To be continued  
  
  
Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has commented. You can't see it but I'm blushing like mad at your compliments. 


	22. Part 22

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 22  
---------------  
  
"Are you sure about this, Severus?" Aurora asked quietly. "This isn't one of the pranks we've been playing?"  
  
"I have answered both those questions twice in the last ten minutes, Aurora. Please do not ask them again, woman." Snape walked to the observatory door, "Yes, I am sure. No, I am not joking. Now go to bed and sleep, I will see you in the morning."  
  
"Are you nagging me?" Aurora demanded as Severus opened the door.  
  
"Someone has to do it," Severus said archly. He stepped through the open doorway and said, "Astrologer," over his shoulder before quickly closing the door.  
  
"Always has to have the last word," Aurora grinned. She peeked out the door and watched Severus disappear from view, the Bloody Baron floating after him.   
  
Sinistra waited a few minutes to be sure Snape had gone downstairs before she closed the door and, cheering quietly, danced around the room. She danced to the door, where she stood still and schooled her features into her best 'Professional Teacher expression' before leaving the room as though nothing unusual had happened.  
  
---------------  
  
Fawkes sang mournfully and sat, dejectedly, on his perch.  
  
"Yes, I know it is early for visitors," Albus chided his pet, "but you shall have to endure it."   
  
The Headmaster checked that his hat was on straight, sat in the chair behind his desk and waited for his early morning visitors to knock on the office door. Three minutes later he was still waiting.  
  
With a lazy wave of his wand, Albus opened the door to reveal the Slytherin teachers. Professors Snape and Sinistra jumped apart guiltily.  
  
"While I applaud the display of affection, the foyer of my office is not exactly the best place for I believe the modern expression for it is 'snogging', or as it was known in my youth 'taking a stroll in the garden'." Dumbledore's rebuke was softened by the gleam of amusement in his eyes and a mischievous wink.   
  
Sinistra snorted. For a moment the Headmaster had looked like an elderly Weasley.  
  
Snape paled slightly. "I assure you, Headmaster," he said with as much of his characteristic cold dignity as he could muster, "that it will not happen again." He stepped firmly into the room; Sinistra followed more slowly.  
  
"Oh, I am sure that Aurora will disagree with your, Severus." Albus said, dryly. "I have no doubt from the enthusiasm you were exhibiting that you will both be indulging in that behaviour again soon."  
  
"I meant not here," Snape said in a sulky tone. Sinistra bit at her lip to smother the urge to laugh at Severus' expression.  
  
"I was making a little joke, Severus." Dumbledore scolded lightly.   
  
"Oh really? I would never have guessed," Snape replied sarcastically, a smile flitting briefly across his features.  
  
While Dumbledore was absorbing the fact that Snape could smile and making a mental note to put this entire conversation into his Pensieve, Sinistra said, "Headmaster, there was something we wished to ask you."  
  
"Yes?" Albus nodded, the 'we' making him very curious.  
  
"We were wondering if you would witness the signing of a document." She placed a thin scroll onto Albus' desk.   
  
The Headmaster picked up the scroll and opened it.  
  
"I thought I was to ask," Severus snapped.   
  
Aurora's acidic reply was lost in the noise of Snape's yelp of surprise. Albus had scampered around the desk and grabbed the Potion's Master in a brief hug, pinning the younger man's arms to his sides.  
  
"Wonderful news, my boy, wonderful!" Albus stepped back from Severus and patted his protege on the shoulder in a fatherly way.  
  
"Thank you," Snape spluttered.  
  
Sinistra's smirk at the expression of horror on Severus' face disappeared when her own face was squashed against a long grey beard and her ribs were squeezed by surprisingly strong arms.  
  
"I am so happy for you both," said Albus as he released Aurora from the hug.  
  
"Thank you, Headmaster," Sinistra said politely. She deliberately ignored her smirking fiance until Dumbledore turned away and walked back to his desk, then she shot a 'just you wait' glare at Snape.  
  
"Please, sit down," said Albus as he turned quickly. He caught sight of the Slytherin's expressions just before they had time to change them and smothered a laugh with a cough. "We shall have a cup of tea and discuss this matter."  
  
Aurora bit back a smile. Albus had said exactly what Severus had told her the Headmaster would say.   
  
---------------  
  
"Now before I sign this document," Dumbledore said ten minutes later as they were sipping tea, "there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you."  
  
The Slytherin Professors looked questioningly at him.  
  
"This is, I hope, the only wedding either of you shall have. Are you sure that you want only to sign a piece of paper? Don't you want something more?"  
  
"What more, Headmaster?" Snape sneered, "A Weasley Twins joke spectacular? Or perhaps another teachers betting war? No, thank you."  
  
"It need not be like that." Albus replied. "Aurora, wouldn't you like some sort of ceremony?"  
  
"No, thank you Albus. It will always be like that for us." Aurora shrugged, "Even if it didn't happen that way we'd expect it to and that expectation would spoil the day. This will be enough."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "No. I will not allow you to ruin your opportunities like this."  
  
"Albus -", Severus leant forward in his chair.  
  
"Hear me out, Severus." Albus said firmly. "In these dark times we all need positive things. If you do not want to have a wedding at least allow me to arrange a feast for you. Friday night would be a good time. It would cause a minimum of disruption to the students' week and you can have the weekend to yourselves. It's not much of a honeymoon but I cannot spare both of you for long at this time of year."  
  
Snape and Sinistra looked at each other.  
  
"I will give you both a few minutes to decide." Dumbledore stepped out of the room and summoned one of the House Elves.  
  
Four minutes later, Dumbledore returned. "I thought you said that would not happen again, Professor Snape?"  
  
Snape blanched and muttered an apology. Sinistra hopped off his lap and returned to her chair.  
  
"We would like to accept your offer of the feast, Headmaster," Snape said, hurriedly changing the subject.  
  
"Excellent." Albus smiled at both of them. "Would you like to invite your families?"  
  
"Must we?" Aurora asked Severus.  
  
"If we don't it'll be worse for both of us." Snape replied decisively. "There are only two of them."  
  
"Good. That's all settled. I shall delay announcing the feast until Friday morning, that will give you time to prepare and avoid too much disruption to the school." Dumbledore said before Sinistra had time to mention that their relatives would probably cause more disruption that a room full of overexcited First years.  
  
The Headmaster opened a drawer in his desk and took out a long, gold-edged quill and a bottle of ink. He unrolled the Acceptance Form and passed it and the quill to Snape.  
  
Severus signed the form and passed it and the quill to Sinistra. Aurora signed the form and passed it and the quill to Dumbledore. Albus smiled at them both and signed the form with a flourish.   
  
The form glowed brightly for a moment and wedding rings appeared on Severus and Aurora's hands. A line of words appeared under the signatures. It read, 'Congratulations. Please register this form with the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible.'  
  
"Lovely!" Albus beamed at Severus and Aurora. "Now, I hope you don't mind but I've taken the liberty of arranging breakfast for you in Severus' rooms. I thought that you might prefer to be alone for a while. I shall have the form owled to the Ministry immediately and, if you don't mind, I should like to send the invitations to your families."  
  
"Thank you, Headmaster." Severus said shakily, he stared at the ring on his hand and fought the urge to cheer.  
  
"You're welcome." Albus smiled. "Oh, Aurora, what name would you prefer to use? Professor Madam Snape?"  
  
"Uh," Aurora too was a little stunned by the appearance of the rings and had to think for a minute or so. "It might be too confusing to have two Professors Snape. Would Sinistra-Snape be all right with you, Severus?"  
  
Severus nodded his approval.  
  
"Good," Dumbledore smiled cheerfully. "Now off you go and enjoy your breakfast." He shooed the newly-married couple out the door and sighed.  
  
"And you," he chided Fawkes, "thought today was going to be a bad day."  
  
To be continued  
  
  
  
Author's note - thanks for your patience. I'm sorry this part took so long to post. I kept having second thoughts about it and rewrote it nine times before I posted the original.  
  
Thank you everyone for all your comments. There will be a couple more parts to this story and then it'll be done. 


	23. Part 23

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
Author's Note - in my note with part 22 I said this story only had a couple of parts to go; three characters have made a liar out of me. They insisted on being put in the story. :) So, there will be at least three parts after this.  
Thanks you to all of you who commented on the story so far. I'm flattered that most of you liked the marriage scene - it just seemed to be a Snapey sort of thing, no fuss or fanfare but it'll get him a ton of attention.   
Enough of my nattering and on with the show.  
K  
  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 23  
---------------  
  
"I do hope we aren't expected to eat all that!" Aurora laughed and pointed at the table that was groaning under a bizarre collection of enough food to feed all the Slytherin first and second years for two meals.  
  
The laden table suited the room. The Slytherin Housemaster's quarters were decorated in what Aurora liked to call 'What the heck was Salazar drinking?' style. The mosaic on the floor showed a gigantic snake winding it's way through a maze of trees and magical beasts. Parts of the maze were hidden under rugs made of animal hides, edged with silver thread. The stone walls were covered with heavy, green velvet curtains, while the fireplace surround and the mantle were covered with carvings of winged serpents.   
  
Severus's snarl of, "Idiotic House Elves," brought Aurora out of her decorating daydream.   
  
"That can go back to the kitchens," Snape said just before, with a wave of his wand, he banished a two-foot tall pineapple with 'Congratulations' written across it in whipped cream.   
  
"And that, that, and that," gone were the curry puffs, a tub of mango-pepper ice cream and a platter of oysters.   
  
"And most definitely that!" The huge Black Forest cake disappeared with a loud pop.  
  
"What about the toffee turnips?" Aurora picked up a blue toffee coated roast turnip and shuddered.  
  
"Those can stay," Severus said quietly. He kissed his wife's cheek, took the turnip from her and bit into it.  
  
Aurora smiled, "Well, now, that explains the state of your teeth, Sev." She picked up a plate of kippers.  
  
"If you eat those fish, Madam Snape," Severus said as bossily as he could with his teeth nearly stuck together with toffee, "I am not kissing you again until this evening."  
  
"I don't think you have that much self-discipline." Aurora smiled sweetly and bit into a kipper.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"I wonder where Professor Snape is?" Hermione Granger said to her friends at breakfast.  
  
"I don't care," replied Ron Weasley thickly, through a mouthful of cereal.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione shuddered, "Really! I don't need to see your breakfast while you're eating it."  
  
"Yes, Percy." Ron jeered at Hermione, who glared back at him.  
  
"So," said Harry, interrupting Ron and Hermione's daily breakfast argument before it had a chance to develop into an all-morning grudge, "are we going to find out what Snape's up to?"  
  
"Why bother?" Ron said into his glass of pumpkin juice, ignoring Hermione who was muttering darkly about his lack of table manners. "We've got potions first thing. We'll see him then and if he's not there -" Ron grinned broadly.  
  
"We can skip the lesson!" Neville grinned, from the other side of the table. Harry and Ron nodded happily.  
  
Hermione sighed dramatically and frowned silently at the three boys. They, cheerfully, ignored her.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"He's not here," hissed Ron happily, ten minutes into the Potions lesson. Ron and Harry looked around the classroom. Most of the Gryffindors were chatting while they waited for Snape to arrive. Uncharacteristically, the Slytherin students had their potion ingredients neatly arranged on their desks and were silently waiting for the Professor's arrival.  
  
"You should get ready for class, Ron. You too, Harry," commanded Hermione. "Or you'll get into trouble when Professor Snape arrives."  
  
"No one else is getting ready." Harry replied, conveniently ignoring Hermione, Neville and the Slytherin students.  
  
"Does that make it the right thing to do?" Professor Dumbledore said as he entered the Dungeon classroom. The Headmaster closed the door and walked, slowly, to the front of the class.   
  
Harry couldn't think of a sensible reply to the Headmaster's question. So he blushed and quickly began to get his potion ingredients ready. Harry could feel Dumbledore's calm gaze brush over him like a searchlight while the Headmaster waited for the Gryffindor students to finish their preparations.  
  
"Today, Professor Snape is instructing you in the brewing of a," Dumbledore consulted the thick book he held in his left hand, "Remembering Potion."  
  
"Perhaps he should have remembered the class," said Ron, his voice carrying further than he'd intended in the nearly silent room.  
  
"Ron!" hissed Hermione.  
  
Harry watched the Headmaster. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be fighting the urge to smile.  
  
"You're in big trouble now, Weasley," Malfoy hissed, smugly, across the classroom at Ron.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Excuse me, Professor Snape, sir?"  
  
Severus Snape stared at the strangely dressed House-elf who was standing in the middle of his private quarters. The creature had its hands plastered over its bulbous eyes, which were tightly shut.  
  
"What are you doing?" Snape sneered contemptuously.  
  
"Dobby is not looking, Professor, sir," the House-elf said. It sounded very nervous.  
  
Snape ignored the snort of amusement that came from his wife and commanded Dobby to, "Take your hands off your eyes, you damn fool creature, and give me your message."  
  
Dobby parted his fingers and peeked through the gaps between his fingers and thumbs.  
  
"Oh," he dropped his hands to his sides and looked at the Snapes, who were seated close together on the long, overstuffed sofa. "Dobby thought-"  
  
"We know." Aurora sighed.  
  
"The less said about your thoughts the better," Severus snapped at Dobby.  
  
"You should be flattered, Severus." Aurora leant forward and picked up a grape from the heavily laden table. "Did you have a message, Dobby?"   
  
"Oh, yes, Madam Snape." Dobby missed Aurora's sharp glance at the title and said, "Albus Dumbledore asked Dobby to tell Professor Snape that 'he likes teaching potions but he'd prefer if Professor Snape did it'." Dobby screwed up his face as he tried to remember Dumbledore's exact words. "He said 'that it may be wise for you to get there before he outdoes Aurora's efforts with your class'. Professor Snape, sir."   
  
Dobby bowed then scurried out of the room.   
  
"Damn!" Snape put his goblet onto the table. "I trust," he said archly, "that you will not consume any more fish today?"  
  
"No, Severus." Aurora sighed melodramatically.  
  
"Good." Snape kissed his wife's cheek. He blinked in surprise when she nibbled at his neck.  
  
"Hmmm, yes, much nicer that fish." The Astronomy teacher bit back a smirk as her embarrassed husband fled the room.   
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Do you have all of your ingredients prepared?" Dumbledore asked the class.  
  
Neville Longbottom raised his hand. "Excuse me, Headmaster, but did you say the roots had to be chopped or shredded?"  
  
"Diced, Mr Longbottom."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Malfoy's scathing comment about Neville was lost in the commotion that followed Snape's arrival; the classroom door slammed open and Professor Snape slid to a halt just inside the doorway.  
  
"Ah, Severus. Just in time to instruct Mr Longbottom on what to do with his roots." Dumbledore said calmly. The Headmaster ignored the muffled laughter from the Slytherin side of the classroom.  
  
Snape blinked then said, calmly, "Thank you, Headmaster." He walked down to the front of the room. As he did so he noticed that Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were whispering and giggling at him. He shot a quelling glare at the girls then came to a halt in front of the Headmaster.  
  
"Ah, yes." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "Umm, Severus," he said quietly, "if I might make a suggestion?"  
  
Snape noticed that half the Gryffindor students were now giggling, talking and pointing at him. He made a mental note to deduct points from Gryffindor after the Headmaster had left the room.  
  
"Certainly, Headmaster," Snape nodded politely.  
  
Albus stepped close to the Potions Master and whispered, "Before you take over the class you might want to do something about that, ah, bruise on your neck."  
  
Severus blanched and, with as much dignity as he could muster, walked into his storeroom and closed the door.  
  
To be continued 


	24. Part 24

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 24  
---------------  
  
"Keep your mind on your marking, Aurora," Professor Sinistra-Snape scolded herself. "You've almost finished."  
  
She pulled another crumbled, boot-scuffed scroll off the pile and fired a Neatening charm at it. When she opened it she wondered why she'd bothered to charm it at all.  
  
"No," she muttered as she wrote 20/100 on the top corner, "Alpha Centauri is not the planet after Jupiter, Mr Creevy."  
  
After Neatening and marking a few more charts the urge to daydream returned and she sat back in her chair.  
  
Was it only - she consulted her watch - eleven hours since she'd been a single Witch with almost no prospects of having a Wizard to share her life with? And only four hours since she'd been married. That must be some kind of record.  
  
Aurora wondered if she should ask Hermione Granger to research the topic. She bit back a laugh; she'd have to ask Severus his opinion of that idea later.  
  
Ah, Severus. He had to be one of the most annoying, precise, particular, honest, acidic, difficult, unreadable, and surprising Wizards in Britain.   
  
"Thank Merlin," Aurora mused silently, "I can't imagine loving anyone with less character." The quill dropped from the Astronomy Professor's hand as her mind absorbed the realisation that she loved her husband. In hindsight it explained her behaviour the previous night and how quickly she'd accepted his proposal.  
  
"Well, that's unexpected," she said aloud. "I'd best not let him find out too quickly or I'll never win an argument."  
  
Humming happily she fired a Neatening charm at the next scroll on the pile.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
That day rumours about Professors Snape and Sinistra spread like wood smoke through Hogwarts. Almost all of them denied the most obvious explanation for the Professors behaviour.  
  
Albus Dumbledore, never one to miss an opportunity, spent the day collecting the most outrageous of them for his 'Cheer Me Up' Pensieve.  
  
The Headmaster had thought he'd heard the funniest rumour (according to a young Hufflepuff, Professor Snape had been bitten on the neck by Fang when he'd tried to steal some of Hagrid's Rock Cakes) when he heard something at supper that forced him to cast a Quietus charm on himself.  
  
"I tell you it must be true," said Seamus Finnegan to anyone who would listen. "Professor Snape's drunk. That explains why he's behaving now like he was at the muggle-New Year's ball. It explains why he was late for Potions and looked so confused. And that's why Professor Sinistra's been sitting really close to him - she's trying to get him off the booze so he doesn't get chucked out of Hogwarts because she doesn't want to run Slytherin House."  
  
"Oh dear," thought Albus as he, unsteadily, sipped his pumpkin juice, "I definitely shall have to buy a larger Pensieve."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Eeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!"  
  
Instantly awake, Severus Snape sat up in bed and summoned his wand in one movement. He stared around for the owner of the screeching voice. The room was empty, save for the shadows cast by the moonlight flooding in the tower windows.  
  
Beside him Aurora rolled over and said, loudly, "Peeves, if you go anywhere near that telescope I'll turn you into a ghoul!" She squinted sleepily up at her husband, "Ignore him."  
  
"Does he do this often?" Severus demanded as he scanned the room for evidence of the Poltergeist.  
  
"Occasionally." Aurora stretched, "I think he gets bored at night and I'm one of the few people awake he can annoy."  
  
"That will stop," Severus said firmly.  
  
"Which?" Aurora grinned saucily, "Being awake or being annoyed?"  
  
Severus smirked wickedly and leant down to kiss her. He was trailing kisses down the side of her neck when the room became cold and a loud voice interrupted them.  
  
"I have never been so shocked! How could you?"  
  
"What now?" roared Snape, grabbing his wand off the side table where he'd dropped it moments before and pointing it towards the owner of the voice.  
  
The Grey Lady, Sir Nicholas, the Far Friar and the Bloody Baron were floating in the middle of the room. The Grey Lady was nearly solid with rage.  
  
"Disgusting! How could you be so depraved in Hogwarts?" ranted the Grey Lady.  
  
"Most ungentlemanly," commented Sir Nicholas.  
  
"Shut up and get out of this room!" Snape roared.   
  
Meanwhile, Aurora, who winced at the anger in Severus' voice, held up her hand and pointed at the ring. The Fat Friar understood instantly. The Friar beamed happily at her and, much to Aurora's surprise, so did the Baron.  
  
"Typical Slytherins. No morals," said Sir Nicholas. He didn't see the Bloody Baron's smile turn to a scowl but Sir Nick did see the Baron's sword as it was swung at his head.  
  
"Scurvy dog!" cried the Baron as the Gryffindor ghost ducked.  
  
"Missed me!" Sir Nicholas wafted backwards and into the corner of the bed.  
  
"Get out!" Severus fired a spell at the Gryffindor ghost.  
  
"Excuse me," the Fat Friar said quietly to the Grey Lady as Sir Nicholas was bounced around the room. "But why are we bothering them on their wedding night?"  
  
"Because it is most immoral for -". The Grey Lady stared at the Snapes. "Did you say Wedding Night?" She nibbled at her spectral lip.  
  
"You're right, Brother," Sir Nick said as he bounced upside-down across the room. "I can see the wedding rings." Snape dispelled the charm and Nearly-Headless Nick flipped over and adjusted his head.  
  
"Oh!" The Grey Lady curtsied. "Terribly sorry." She zoomed away through the far wall. Sir Nick muttered, "Sorry," and followed her.  
  
The Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar both congratulated the couple and then followed their fellow ghosts.  
  
Severus and Aurora sat silently for a moment then Aurora began to laugh. "Definitely awake and annoyed."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Remus Lupin stared at the mangled, wet, half-buried mess that had been his brand new edition of 'The Daily Prophet'. He raised his wand at the dog that quickly lowered its leg.  
  
"That does it, Padfoot! You've eaten my slippers, dug holes in the garden and now this! I! Have! Had! Enough!" Lupin's voice was shaking with anger.   
  
The big black dog whined apologetically.  
  
"Don't bother. I've heard it all before." Lupin fired a spell at the dog, forcing Sirius Black to revert to human form.   
  
"You have three choices, Sirius." Lupin ranted at his friend. "You can live as a dog in the garden, permanently. Or rejoin the human race and behave as a responsible adult, which I know you can do." Lupin raised his wand and pointed it at Sirius, "Or, you can go back to the cave you were starving in."  
  
"Remus, you don't mean that." Sirius smiled encouragingly. "It was just a news-scroll."  
  
"Do you have any idea how many meals I had to miss to pay for that subscription?" Remus snapped, instantly regretting he'd spoken.  
  
"Why didn't you say something?" Black said quietly.  
  
"I just did." Remus sighed self-consciously.  
  
"This is all bloody Snape's fault." Sirius grumbled.  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"He's the one who got married and," Sirius grimaced, "made me lose my temper."  
  
"Did he?" mused Lupin, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Well I hope it works out."  
  
Sirius was about to yell at Remus for saying something nice about his schoolyard enemy but thought the better of it when he saw the warning gleam in Remus' eye.  
  
"Wonder what she was thinking?" Black grinned, "Imagine having to kiss Snape."  
  
"No, thank you," replied Remus dryly. "I'll stick to dreaming about Miss Witch of the Year, if you don't mind."  
  
"Urgh!" Sirius shuddered, his mind full of images of Snape and Sinistra. "Snape kissing! Yuck! I've got to wash my mind out now."  
  
"You thought of it." Remus scolded his friend cheerfully. He turned and walked towards the cottage's back door.  
  
"You don't have to sound so damn happy about my suffering, Moony." Sirius growled sulkily as he stomped after his friend.  
  
"I consider it payment for my copy of the Prophet." Remus laughed.  
  
"Bloody Snape," muttered Sirius. "This is all his fault."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile at Hogwarts -   
  
To be continued  
  
  
Author's Note - I found so many mistakes in 23 that I've reposted it. :(   
Thank you for all your comments. I'm kicking myself that anyone appreciates my sense of humour let alone anyone likes this quirky story enough to comment on it.  
I'm sure there will be a few comments about 'poor Snuffles' after this chapter. Well, he is reacting to freedom and catching up on all the pranks he missed. Once he has calmed down he'll be more sensible. :) 


	25. Part 25

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 25  
---------------  
  
Minerva McGonagall sat primly in her chair at the teachers' table and surveyed the Hogwarts students with her infamous and well practiced 'I know you are thinking of doing mischief so don't do it' frown. Minerva was proud of the frown and had even reprimanded Percy Weasley once for copying it without permission.  
  
She consulted her watch and was pleased to note that the Headmaster had arrived in the hall exactly at the right time. Minerva loved the symmetry of time and rules and rule keeping, when it suited her, and was content when a day began just as her meticulous mental-timetable said it should.  
  
The Transfiguration Teacher's contentment was short lived. Professor Dumbledore did not sit down, as Minerva knew he should within one and three minutes of entering the room. Instead he called for the attention of the students and the teachers.  
  
It appeared that Professor Dumbledore was to make a pre-breakfast speech. And speeches, as Minerva knew only too well from experience, did not bode well for a happy, well-organised day.  
  
"Usually," began the Headmaster, his voice cheerful and calm over the nervous mutterings of the students, "we breakfast like an old married couple, without you having to listen to me talk."  
  
Some of the students and most of the teachers smiled at this. Minerva didn't find it particularly amusing and shot a warning glance at a pair of giggling Hufflepuff First Years.  
  
"However," continued Dumbledore, "this morning I have two most pleasant announcements to make. The first is that in place of the usual evening meal this Friday we shall be having a Feast."  
  
Instantly the room was filled with the sound of whispered muttering from the students. Minerva was tempted to gently scold the students for talking but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was just as surprised and curious about an unseasonable Feast as the students were. She looked to the other Professors and noticed that while most of them appeared to be curious or bemused, Snape and Sinistra appeared to be embarrassed.  
  
Minerva put aside her questions about the Slytherin Professors' behaviour when Dumbledore raised his hand for silence. The Headmaster waited until the only sound in the room was the soft moaning of the ghosts in the entrance hall.  
  
"The second announcement is a very pleasant one. Too often recently I have had to tell you sad news so I am most pleased to be able to tell you," the Headmaster paused dramatically, "that the Feast is in honour of the marriage of Professors Snape and Sinistra."  
  
There was stunned silence for all of three seconds before the Slytherin students began cheering wildly.   
  
"All bets were cancelled." Professor Moody said loudly, "I'm not paying anyone anything!" The ex-Auror's magical eye swiveled erratically and stared at a number of teachers and students before turning to stare into Professor Moody's head.  
  
Moody's words started Professor Flitwick giggling. Flitwick looked towards Hagrid was chuckling merrily and congratulating the Snapes in a booming voice.  
  
Soon most of the teachers and students were talking about the news. Snape and Sinistra were sending barbed looks at Moody, Flitwick and Hagrid, who were all oblivious to the Slytherins' embarrassment.  
  
Again Dumbledore raised his hand again for quiet. It took longer for silence to fall this time.  
  
"Although the Feast is on Friday, the Professors were legally married yesterday." Again an explosion of noise greeted the Headmaster's words and yet again Dumbledore waited, his smile growing more gleeful and mischievous with each second.   
  
"Therefore, to avoid confusion with timetables Professor Aurora Snape will now be known as Professor Sinistra-Snape. And," he added loudly, "to avoid many weeks of detention, you are advised to not play any practical or impractical jokes on the Slytherin Professors. This warning should be most especially heeded by the seventh Year Gryffindors."  
  
Professor McGonagall's cast her fiercest 'don't even think about it' concrete-melting frown at the Weasley Twins who, for once, blushed guiltily.  
  
Dumbledore sat down. The arrival of the breakfast foods and the postal owls told everyone that the speech was over. Soon afterwards the room was filled with the buzz of conversation, the click of cutlery and the crackle of milk drenched Rice Pop'n'Wizz Fizzies.   
  
The news had been so unexpected to all the people who hadn't been paying close attention to recent events that breakfast ran long over time and a number of students and teachers were late for the first class of the day.   
  
Minerva later heard a rumour that the Headmaster had to step in and return five thousand seven hundred and ten points deducted by the Potions Master, in one morning for tardiness, impertinent questions and giggling in class. Minerva was not sure if the rumour was true as it was beneath her dignity to ask but the scowl on Severus Snape's face at lunchtime made her suspect that it was.  
  
---------------  
  
Severus Snape groaned and covered his face with his hands.  
  
"It's only a Feast, Severus," Aurora tried to drag her husband out of his office chair. For a thin man he was unusually heavy.  
  
"It is not the Feast that I am avoiding," Severus's muffled voice echoed from behind his palms. He pushed his hands up over his face and through his hair, then sat back and let his hands fall listlessly into his lap. "It's Her!"  
  
"Your old great-granny?" Aurora snorted. She gave Severus's shoulder a tug and almost fell over when he didn't move an inch.  
  
"Aurora!" Severus scolded, "You must not refer to Signora Medusa Snape as 'my old great-granny." He shuddered, "Not if you want to keep all your limbs intact."  
  
"I can't believe she's that bad," Aurora said absent-mindedly while she walked around the chair. "Severus, why are your feet hooked around the chair legs?"  
  
"She was one of the most powerful Dark Witches of her generation," Severus snarled, ignoring the question. "Do not underestimate her."  
  
Aurora stepped back and pointed her wand at Severus. "Accio Severus Snape!"   
  
The Potions Master flew across the room and into his wife's arms. Aurora staggered as he collided with her but managed to keep her footing.  
  
"Don't worry, Sev. I'll protect you." Aurora smirked and patted his cheek with her hand. "If I get desperate I can throw a budgie cage at her."  
  
Snape winced. "Tonight," he said melodramatically, "is going to be a disaster."  
  
To be continued 


	26. Part 26

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
Author's note - as promised here is the extended version of Chapter 26.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 26  
---------------  
  
"If ye'll just wait here, Professor Dumbledore will be along soon." Hagrid bowed slightly before he left the three wedding guests standing at the bottom of the staircase which led to the Great Hall.  
  
"Most improper," muttered Medusa Snape darkly while she watched Hagrid trudge up the staircase. "In my day we would have been individually escorted by House Elves, not left in the foyer like yesterday's news-scroll."  
  
Edgar Greenwood had been about to comment on Medusa's rudeness when the other wedding guest spoke.  
  
"Perhaps, Madam Snape, Professor Dumbledore wants to save you the trouble of climbing staircases unnecessarily." The younger wizard smiled, "A most gentlemanly thing to do."  
  
Medusa sniffed melodramatically, "Only right for a lady of my station." She flicked her wand at the skirts of her long, formal robes. The evidence of the horseless-carriage ride from the gate, a few creases and small spots of dust, fell away.  
  
"Exactly, Madam Snape." Edgar said hurriedly, quickly following the Thadeus's lead. "You have travelled a long way in a short time. It wouldn't be polite to make you climb staircases you didn't need to climb. Criminal, in fact." He started to add some more fears for Medusa's health but stopped when Medusa tapped sharply on the floor with her cane and peered quellingly at him from under her heavy eyebrows.  
  
"Thank you, Mr Greenwood." She commanded, a glint of amusement in her gaze. "I believe my injured feminine pride has been adequately assuaged. You do not need to inflict any phantom illnesses upon my person. At my age I do not need any additional maladies."  
  
Again Edgar's reply was interrupted; this time by a seeming hoard of students which errupted out of the dungeons and headed towards the stairs to the Great Hall.  
  
Thadeus Assentor quickly stepped out of the way. Edgar chose to stand his ground and let the sea of students wash past him as though he was a large rock. Meanwhile, Medusa was busy firing stinging rebukes at any student who stepped on the train of her robes or brushed the long drooping feathers of her hat.  
  
The hoard had reduced to a few clumps when the outer door opened and admitted a gust of cold January air and a teenage boy. The boy wore slightly muddy school robes and carried a pair of dragon-hide gloves.   
  
"Been earning extra Herbology points again, Longbottom?" a boy's voice echoed out of a group of four older Slytherin students. "You'll need it after all the points you lost for Gryffindor in Potions."  
  
The Longbottom boy lowered his head and tried to walk across the foyer. Two larger boys left the tormentor's group and stood in Longbottom's path. The two remaining students laughed at boy's struggles to evade the young thugs.  
  
"Don't run away, Neville," cackled a pudgy-faced girl. "You'll miss speaking to your Boggart. See there she is." The girl pointed at Medusa.  
  
"This should be interesting," murmured Thadeus under his breath.  
  
The Slytherin students who had been harassing the Longbottom boy and the blond boy all turned to stare at the pudgy-faced girl.  
  
"I'm telling Professor Snape on you, Pansy," sneered the blond boy. "You called his granny a Boggart!"  
  
"I am not Professor Snape's Granny, young man, I am his Great-Granny," said a cold, commanding voice. "Who are you? And kindly explain why you and your friends are insulting me."  
  
"It was his Boggart," replied Draco, he looked at Neville but Signora Snape did not look away.   
  
Draco trembled under the gaze of the old Slytherin Matriarch and said quietly, "I am Draco Malfoy." He pointed to the other students and one-by-one introduced Victor Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. Then, as though the Slytherin students were psychically linked, they all turned and fled up the stairs.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Neville Longbottom squared his shoulders and looked up at Signora Snape. He knew as soon as he saw her that she wasn't his Boggart. She had better clothes than his granny did, she didn't smell of mothballs and she was a lot wrinklier than Professor Snape was.  
  
The old lady was a little scary but nowhere near as frightening as his own Granny had been the time he had accidentally dropped a glass of pumpkin juice onto her antique carpet; that had been a very frightening day.  
  
Neville jumped as the old lady rapped the floor with the end of her cane.   
  
"Young man," Medusa's waspish tones echoed around the foyer and jangled Neville's nerves. "I do not appreciate people daydreaming in my presence."  
  
"Sorry." Neville smiled encouragingly then thought better of it and tried to put on a serious expression.   
  
"When you've quite finished pulling faces at me I would like an explanation." Medusa continued, "Why were those children rude to me?"  
  
"They're Slytherins," said Neville, his fingers nervously tugging at the dragonhide gloves he held in his hands.  
  
"Well, that explains a lot." Edgar Greenwood muttered.  
  
"Were all the big-headed loudmouths in Slytherin in your time too?" Thadeus Assentor asked Edgar.   
  
The two wizards were leaning against the wall, near the bottom of the stairs. It looked to Neville like they were watching Mrs Snape and him as though they were watching a Quidditch match.  
  
Edgar nodded to Thadeus. "Terrible they were. All of them so busy saying how 'wicked and naughty' they were that they had all the teachers believing them. My fellow Ravenclaws and I used to have a wonderful time playing pranks and getting them in trouble for it."  
  
"You did that too?" Thadeus laughed. "I remember when I was in Hufflepuff we had a book that everyone put ideas in of how to get Lucius Mal-"  
  
Signora Snape glared icily at Mr Assentor. The Ministry wizard fell silent and Medusa turned back to face Neville.  
  
"Explain, boy, why they were calling me a Boggart!"  
  
Neville took a deep breath and almost choked as he saw Edgar stick his tongue out at Medusa. Edgar winked at Neville who managed to say, "They shouldn't have said that, Mrs Snape, it was rude of them. Besides, it wasn't you really."  
  
"What do you mean 'wasn't I'?"  
  
Neville took a deep breath and said, "I-had-to-fight-a-Boggart-in-class-and-it-looked-like-Professor-Snape-and-Professor-Lupin-said-I-should-put-my-granny's-clothes-on-it-so-it-ended-up-looking-like-Professor-Snape-in-my-granny's-dress-and-vulture-hat-and-everyone-in-the-school-heard-about-it-and-that's-why-Pansy-said-what-she-said." Neville stopped talking, gasping for air.  
  
"I believe, Mr Longbottom, that you will be late for the Feast if you do not leave now." Albus Dumbledore said quietly as he walked down the stairs. The Headmaster smiled kindly at Neville and cast a cleaning charm on the boy's robes. "Hurry along now."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
The Bloody Baron glided out of Neville Longbottom's way as the teenager clattered up the staircase. The Baron directed his gaze towards the small group of people at the bottom of the stairs. The Headmaster had calmed the situation and was skillfully guiding the little party towards an ornate door that had appeared in the panelling.  
  
The Baron smirked as the old lady grumpily stomped her way to the door. Tonight he - the Bloody Baron, Official Ghost of Slytherin House, in life a Baron in the Court of Prince John, and the Spectre that brought terror to Peeves  
- was going to enjoy the party.  
  
To-be-continued 


	27. Part 27

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 27  
---------------  
  
Professor Severus Snape stalked into the Great Hall's anteroom where the wedding guests were waiting to greet the 'happy couple'. The Potion Master's expression was as thunderous as a mid-winter storm. Aurora strolled through the open doorway and called a greeting to Edgar before moving to stand beside her husband.  
  
One look at the expression on his great-grandmother's face and Severus knew instantly that she was in one of her famous Moods.   
  
The old lady slunk across the room like an elderly, over-dressed cobra hunting an extremely arthritic and slow moving mouse. The wedding guests and Aurora held their collective breaths while Medusa stomped angrily up to the Potions Master. The elderly lady stood to her full height and looked down her long nose at her only surviving relative.  
  
"Severus," she screeched, "have you washed you hair in the last month? Great Merlin you look like a frog in a mud puddle!"  
  
Snape's sighed reply of, "I am delighted to see you too, Great-Grandmother," was almost lost in the roar of laughter that erupted from Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Does he always do that?" Medusa peered imperiously at the Headmaster.  
  
"Regularly." Severus replied. He tried to duck out of the way as his great-grandmother cast a spell on him but he wasn't fast enough. Instantly Severus' hair appeared cleaner, trimmed and styled so that the ends curled neatly inwards.  
  
"Not the ribbon!" Snape added quickly as he ducked behind Edgar.  
  
"But Severus it suits you. It always did." Medusa reached into her a pocket in her gown and withdrew a small-framed photograph. Before Severus could stop her she showed the photograph to Professor Sinistra-Snape and Albus Dumbledore.  
  
The photograph was of a small thin, pale-skinned boy no more than five years of age. He was dressed in old fashioned, lace trimmed robes and his hair was held back with a large crimson satin ribbon that was tied in a bow. Albus and Aurora just had time to see the little boy pull the ribbon out of his hair, throw it on the ground and jump on it before Severus slapped his hand over the photograph.  
  
Aurora bit back a smile that she knew Severus would not appreciate and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Signora Snape."  
  
"I know it's no such thing," the old lady sneered, "but your manners are good enough, even if we haven't been introduced."   
  
Medusa turned to Snape and said loudly and slowly, "I assume that this person is your wife, Severus?"  
  
It was about this time that Thadeus gave up on pretending to be unaffected by Medusa's strange behaviour and started laughing behind his hand.  
  
"She's a bit short. I suppose you couldn't buy a taller one?" Medusa smiled sweetly.  
  
"Buy a..." Aurora stepped forward, pulling her wand out of her pocket. "Why I should..."  
  
Severus grabbed his wife's wand arm. "Don't. She loves the attention. That's why she's goading you."  
  
"She's a small, uncouth, common sort of witch." Medusa purred.  
  
"She's my uncouth little witch," Severus snarled, his hand still tightly clasped around Aurora's wrist, "and don't you dare forget it, Medusa."  
  
Medusa's maniacal expression slipped for a moment. "Don't tell me, Severus, that you have managed to grow a backbone?"  
  
Severus raised one eyebrow and gave Medusa his 'I'm Number One Slytherin so behave' look.  
  
The old lady glared back and said, "That name has to change. Your wife cannot retain her family name. I won't have a relation of mine with initials that spell ass."  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Aurora pulled her wrist out of Severus's clutch and glared at the old lady.  
  
"Oh dear," Medusa acted as though Severus hadn't spoken. "Severus, it appears that I've upset your little Keezle."  
  
"Madam Snape," Edgar chided Medusa as if she was a child, "Please remember your manners."  
  
"If manners mattered my great-grandson would have introduced his keezlely wife properly."   
  
"I am not a Keezle." Aurora stared up at the old lady.  
  
"Of course you aren't, dear. Why? Did someone call you a Keezle?" Medusa turned to Severus. "Severus, someone's insulting your wife. You really should do something about it."  
  
"Oh, really?" Snape sighed. He covered his eyes with his hands and counted to ten under his breath. Why in the world did Medusa have to put on this act every time he saw her?  
  
"Uh, Sev," Aurora said quietly while she carefully stepped away from Signora Snape. "Is your great-granny missing a few owls in her owlry?"  
  
"No, Aurora." Snape replied dryly. "She had her owls replaced with grindylows years ago."  
  
To be continued  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Author's Notes  
  
aniwda - I'm sure that Snape's not a snarky as he likes act and we've never seen anything from his point of view in the books so inside he may be a big softie. :)   
  
the lady arwen - Thank you for the compliment. It's hard to believe that this little tale is anyone's 'absolutely favorite Snape fan fic' but I do appreciate the compliment. **blush** I hope the Feast will live up to your expectations.  
  
Seline, Wingstar, EmpressGreenleaf, M Slope - Thank you, thank you. Ack, more blushing.  
  
EKittyKatKid - I'm glad my story made you laugh. It's wonderful for me to know that other people appreciate my sense of humour.  
  
Aurumlupi - You'll be glad to know that the revised version of chapter 26 has Neville being saved from Medusa. :)   
  
besnaped - Thanks. No, I hadn't abandoned this story but my sense of humour left me for a little while, due to the death of a dear friend. Now, thanks to a lovely romantic wedding I attended on the weekend, I've found it again.  
  
Now, on with the show... 


	28. Part 28

Disclaimer - see part 1.  
  
---------------  
Wizards Honour  
Part 28  
---------------  
  
"As amusing as this conversation is," Albus Dumbledore said calmly, "we are expected in the Great Hall. I believe there are gifts to be given and received before that can occur."  
  
The Headmaster caught sight of the momentary expression of relief and thanks that flickered across Professor Snape's face. "My," thought Dumbledore, "if I'd known it was this easy to control him I would have invited Medusa to Hogwarts years ago."  
  
"Yes," Edgar's hearty tones broke through the uncomfortable silence. "I believe, under the Wizards Honour law that my gift must be given first." Edgar ignored Medusa's sneer at his statement of the obvious and rummaged through the deep pockets in his robes.  
  
"Ah, there it is." Edgar retrieved a worn velvet box, wiped a bit of budgie seed off it with a finger and handed the box to his great-niece. "Your mother wanted you to have this when you were married."  
  
"Thank you," Aurora opened the box and lifted out a small globe of Earth; completed with tiny clouds, storms and a tiny sun and moon.  
  
"A weather globe," Dumbledore said quietly, "Most useful for astronomy and avoiding apparating into a rain shower."  
  
"Indeed," Edgar nodded. He waited until Aurora had placed the small box safely in a pocket in her robes before he said, "and this is my gift." Edgar handed Aurora a cloth bag that contained a deep blue crystal on a chain. "It's a portable privacy charm,' Edgar whispered loudly. "Hang it on the doorknob and you won't be disturbed."  
  
"Uncle!!" Aurora glared up at the elderly man. "You do know that these gifts will be documented with the contract?"  
  
"Oh, course," Edgar replied. "Oh, and if he uses the charm without you in the room it will turn into an alarm."  
  
"So good to know that you trust me," Snape purred sarcastically.  
  
"Yes, well," Edgar stepped back from Severus, the older man misreading Snape's dark humour for anger.  
  
"Now that the comedy routine is over, may I present my gift?" Medusa asked in a voice that could have curdled Dragon's milk.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"She didn't?" ... "Pansy said that." ... "Ohhh, she's in big trouble now." ... "So, Neville, what happened next?"   
  
In the Great Hall, the students seated at the Gryffindor table leant closer to Neville as he continued his story.  
  
Meanwhile, some of the teachers were taking their places at the Head table. Professor Trelawney and Madam Hooch were standing to one side of the table; just the perfect place for Hooch to watch the students like a hawk and Trelawney to draw a great deal of attention.  
  
"I foresee that this is a sad day for the ladies of Hogwarts." Professor Trelawney sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear from her cheek with a red and purple silk handkerchief. "The sole eligible bachelor in Hogwarts has been caught in fortune's web." She sniffed again and tucked her handkerchief into the sleeve of her long, sequinned black robes.  
  
Madam Hooch laughed, "Eligible? Severus? Maybe if you hit him with a 'stupefy' or ten and gagged him."  
  
"That is not nice, Rolanda, your planets must be in an unfavourable alignment today." Trelawney smiled insipidly, "Perhaps I can help you find the shadows that are clouding your path."   
  
"Really, Sybill," said Professor McGonagall, while she walked past Trelawney and made her way to her place at the table, "why would anyone want to see what is under a shadow?"  
  
"Could be darn useful, that," Mad-Eye Moody stomped past McGonagall. "Could've used that in a few night battles." The retired Auror threw himself into one of the chairs and glared threateningly at the students and most of the teachers.  
  
"You see," Trelawney said, importantly and loudly enough for McGonagall to hear, "my skills are useful."  
  
Hooch looked at Moody, then back at Trelawney and smiled.   
  
"Sybill," the Flying Instructor whispered, "Alastor's single."   
  
Trelawney sniffing stopped abruptly. Hooch bit the inside of her lip to stop herself laughing when the Divination teacher swooped on Moody as enthusiastically as she would have grabbed the last sequinned robe at Madam Malkin's annual sale.  
  
"Tsk, tsk," Professor McGonagall muttered to Hooch when the flying instructor sat down beside her.  
  
"I don't know why I didn't think of that before, Minerva." Hooch grinned.  
  
Minerva McGonagall hid her smirk behind her hand.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Severus Snape was so engrossed in the 'Snape Family Potions Book', a small well-worn and very ancient book the size of a diary, that he missed Medusa's announcement that she had brought a gift for Aurora.  
  
By the time Severus looked up from great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Dionysus Snape's recipe for Instant 40-year-old Whisky (the secret of the Snape family's wealth before the Magical Brewing Age Identification Laws came into effect), Aurora was gingerly lifting the lid of a battered cardboard box.  
  
"No, stop!" Severus' exclamation was followed by the sound of squeaky singing voices. Before Aurora could slam the lid back down a small cloud of singing Pixies erupted out of the box.  
  
There was a flurry of wand waving and within moments a small pile of stunned Pixies with miffed expressions on their little blue faces landed at Medusa's feet. Medusa looked equally miffed, although she was by no means stunned or blue.  
  
Dumbledore levitated the pile of comatose Pixies into to their box, while Severus, Edgar and Medusa exchanged glares. It looked as though wands would be drawn at any moment when Thadeus Assentor cleared his throat, loudly.  
  
"Now that all the fun is over," said the Ministry Lawyer in his best angry-judge-quelling voice, "I can give you my boring but practical gifts."  
  
"Excellent idea, Mr Assentor," Dumbledore chimed in while he spellotaped the Pixie-box shut securely.  
  
The Ministry Wizard pulled a Ministry-beige cloth bag out of one of his pockets and tipped the contents onto a nearby desk. It was a pile of scrolls, most of them were quite small and all of them had an official seal, stamp or ribbon.  
  
Thadeus picked up one of the scrolls, "Your marriage license as registered with the Ministry." He dropped the scroll back into the bag. He then picked up another scroll, "Professor Sinistra-Snape's change of marital status and name with the WASSUPS." This scroll was also dropped into the bag.  
  
The first two scrolls were soon joined by: Aurora's new Apparition License; Severus' registration as a family wizard with the Potioner's Guild; their new registrations with the Wizarding Teachers Board; and a revised copy of their Hogwart's Teaching Contracts.  
  
"Thank you," Aurora sighed, glad to receive a useful gift after the Pixies. "I was dreading filling in all those forms."  
  
"All part of the service." Thadeus smiled and said to Severus, "And I didn't need a fly-fast potion to do it."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, back in the Great Hall, the Professors' were continuing to chat while they waited for the guests of honour to arrive.  
  
"I saw this delay would occur." Sybill Trelawney was informing Mad-Eye. "Just this morning I was drinking my cup of tea and I read in the leaves that romance would be approaching slowly."  
  
"Nothing to do with the Headmaster liking to make an entrance, then?" Hooch murmured.  
  
"Yes, most clever, Sybill," sniped McGonagall, the sarcasm in her voice would have done a Snape proud.  
  
"Thank you." Trelawney replied icily. She sniffed and became highly absorbed in arranging the sleeve of her robes.  
  
"You don't know what's going on, Minerva," Moody growled. "They could have been kidnapped or attacked or eaten in the hallway by Dire Wolves. Constant Vigilance! That's what is required."  
  
Hooch heard a sigh from her neighbour and turned to look at the despondent looking Penelope Clearwater.  
  
"How do you stand him?" Hooch whispered.  
  
Penelope's reply was drowned out by the arrival of the guests.  
  
To be continued 


	29. Part 29

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and all the characters and settings belong to JK Rowling and any other copyright holders. This is a non-profit story for my amusement with no intention to infringe upon copyright.  
  
Signora Medusa Snape belongs to no one and wants it know that if anyone tries to declare otherwise they should be a rich wizard with good looks who would like to be nagged, bossed and controlled by a mature woman with an aquiline profile. Applicants please owl - Signora M Snape, Cottage 6, Baldoro's Retirement Village for Elderly Wizards and Witches, Kreaki Village, Sicili.  
  
---------------------  
  
Wizards Honour   
  
Part 29  
  
---------------------  
  
In Albus Dumbledore's long and eventful life he had discovered that most days were no-pensieve-memory days while some days were one-or-two-pensieve-memory days. In his long life Albus had experienced only a handful of the rarest of all days, those special days that could fill an entire pensieve with memories. The day of the Snapes' Wedding Feast was one of those rare days.  
  
Albus had already made a note to add Medusa Snape's gift giving to his extra-special-cheer-ups pensieve when he caught sight of the decorations in the Great Hall and found another special memory. Filius Flitwick had outdone his previous decoration efforts; not only was there a traditional willow bower, a cocoon-like seat woven out of willow branches, for the 'happy' couple but the bower was decorated with sickeningly cute fluffy green toy snakes and silver bows.  
  
"I wonder if Filius can outrun Severus's hexes?" Albus pondered silently when one of the tiny toy snakes smiled and waved its tail at the Headmaster. The elderly wizard walked calmly between the tables of silent students, the rest of the wedding party trailing behind him. Edgar and Thadeus stayed close to the Headmaster, keeping as far away from Medusa as they could manage.  
  
"Someone please tell me this is a joke," Aurora Sinistra-Snape's voice echoed around the Great Hall. The witch was staring up at the hovering bower.  
  
Severus Snape's acidic, "Unfortunately not," was almost lost in the muffled giggled and whispers coming from the students.  
  
"It is your fault, Severus. It's too late if you do not like her now," Medusa sniped viciously.  
  
Before Severus or Aurora could reply, a voice echoed from the direction of the Gryffindor table.  
  
"What a horrible old witch!"  
  
Everyone in the room fell silent and all eyes, even those of the fluffy toy snakes, turned to look and the young speaker who was now blushing an unbecoming tomato red.  
  
Aurora Sinistra-Snake grinned at the girl and said, "Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Weasley."  
  
It took some time for Headmaster Dumbledore to get everyone to their seats and sitting quietly. Only the threat of waiting even longer for their food kept the children and the bridal couple on their best behaviour.  
  
The Professors Snape sitting in a bower decorated with 'cute' snakes was a chilling scary sight. Severus Snape resembled an extremely disgruntled eagle forced into a nest too small and sweet for him. His appearance and temper were not improved by the balancing act he had to perform to stop his bowl of soup falling to the floor ten feet below. Aurora had succeeded with her soup by ignoring the spoon and drinking it straight from the bowl, much to her sneering husband's disgust.  
  
Albus sat back in his throne-like chair and calmly ignored a few chestnuts that the students were surretitiously throwing at each other and at the sickeningly cute snakes on the bower. Albus also pretended to ignore the silly comments that Professor Trelawney was making; the Divination Professor was trying to give Alastor Moody a hug and the old ex-auror was proving why he had avoided capture or death for some many years.  
  
Moody was twisting away from Sybil for the third time when he accidentally knocked his bowl of soup into her lap.  
  
"Oh, Professor Moody! How could you?" Sybil exclaimed. She glared dramatically at the flustered DADA Teacher.  
  
"But Sybil, don't you know why?" Professor McGonagall said cattily, remining Albus why her animagus was a tabby cat. "Surely you knew that would happen."  
  
Albus lifted his goblet and hid his broad grin in a long sip of wine. He almost choked when a glowing chestnut flew past his ear, a second one following close behind it.  
  
"Sorry, Headmaster," Thadeus Assentor called. "We were aiming for Professor McGonagall's tea."  
  
Professor Dumbledore gave Edgar and Thadeus his best "you are both old enough to know better" look then with a twitch of his hand sent the chestnuts flying into their goblets.  
  
"Oh, good shot!" Edgar chuckled while he wiped a bit of tea off his face.   
  
Albus smiled into his goblet again and began to think about the extra large, family size, special memory projecting pensieve he could now justify buying. A pensieve not only big enough to hold all the fun of the last few months but also strong enough to project the memories as 'home memories'.  
  
The Headmaster chuckled as he pondered all the home memories nights he could force his staff to attend. "Ah, what fun it is to be the boss," he murmured.  
  
In the floating bower Severus Snape finally lost his battle to control his soup bowl and it slipped from his hands. Albus bit his lip as the soup splattered across Draco Malfoy's face and the bowl bounced off Gregory Goyle's head.  
  
To be concluded 


	30. Part 30

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and all the characters and settings belong to JK Rowling and any other copyright holders. This is a non-profit story for my amusement with no intention to infringe upon copyright.  
  
Edgar Greenwood would like it know that he does not want to be nagged, bossed and controlled by a mature woman with an aquiline profile and could she please go away.  
  
---------------------  
  
Wizards Honour   
  
Part 30  
  
---------------------  
  
"That is all Flitwick's fault." Severus Snape snarled darkly as he glared down at the soup garnished figure of Draco Malfoy. Severus sighed dramatically and cast a cleaning spell at the Malfoy heir.  
  
"I am relieved this Hogwarts Marriage is in keeping with the others we have seen here, Friar." The Gray Lady said loudly as she floated past the willow bower.  
  
"Yes," replied the Fat Friar cheerfully, "It's so romantic to see such disorganisation."  
  
Severus was about to tell them to go off and molder somewhere when he saw a chestnut fly through the Grey Lady's feet. His gaze followed the trajectory the little nut had taken back to the Gryffindor table. Only one student had their wand out.   
  
"I saw that Creevy!" Severus sneered down at the boy. He smirked as the Creevey boy went extremely pale and hurriedly put his wand into his robes.  
  
A few more chestnuts came flying towards Snape but before he could act his wife said, "Three nuts to Gryffindor, Mr Finnigan," and fired them back at the Gryffindor table. The chestnuts passed through Nearly Headless Nick's head and the Gryffindor ghost turned to stare up at them.  
  
"You are enjoying this too much, Aurora," Severus murmured into his wife's ear.  
  
She smirked back at him and replied, "It's madness now, Severus, and we're only on the first course."  
  
Severus smiled coldly and said, "Tonight is one night that I am almost glad to not be the castle caretaker."  
  
---------------------  
  
"They're all so happy!" Moaning Myrtle's whining voice echoed through the Hogwarts foyer.  
  
"Sickening." Filch grumbled. "All that food and drink and no discipline." He reached down to pat Mrs Norris's ear while the cat batted a chestnut around the floor, "They've got it too good, those students."  
  
"Ooooh, Professor Snape looks angry," chortled Myrtle happily. "He looked really upset."  
  
"Oh dear, oh dear. How very sad." Filch muttered, a twinkle of good humour appearing in his eye.  
  
Anything else that Filch was going to say was lost in the sound of a large screech. Filch turned and saw the Bloody Baron floating close to the foyer ceiling, his spectral hand clasped over Peeve's collar.  
  
"You will not interfere with my success, Peeves." The Baron's voice was cold and eerie. "Or you will regret it for a very, very, very long time."  
  
"Can't I just thrown one chestnut, your Bloodiness?"  
  
"Not while the Snapes are there." The Baron commanded. Peeves grinned wickedly and began to chant something that sounded rather like, "Hurry Up Snapes."  
  
---------------------  
  
Peeves soon had his wish. In the bower, Snape ducked another volley of student-spelled chestnuts. "Aurora, kindly stop encouraging the students."  
  
Aurora, who was secretly getting tired of the chestnut game, smirked up at her husband. "You can't stop me, grumpy eagle."  
  
"Oh, yes I can, nut chucker!" Severus hissed darkly at his wife.  
  
"Oh really? Snake-in-a-basket."  
  
"Yes, Pixie-releaser."  
  
"I'd like to see you try, you pot boiler." Aurora smiled. Severus looked out at the students and then grabbed his wife by the shoulders and gave her a long, passionate kiss.  
  
"Ewwwwwww!" chorused younger students and almost all the Snape-hating students in the room.   
  
"How improper!" The Grey Lady hid her face behind her fan while still managing to peek through it at the couple in the bower.  
  
"Oh my," the Fat Friar glided over to the Hufflepuff table and told the children to stop looking at the kissing couple. Meanwhile, Sir Nicholas tried to cover a young first-year's staring eyes with his hands, which was rather a silly idea as the hands in question were transparent.  
  
"Ah, tradition!" The Baron whispered, his menacing voice sounding more triumphant than terrifying.  
  
"Stop that now!" Medusa commanded and cast a charm at the bower that caused it to tip the kissing couple onto the floor of the Great Hall. This was something of a shock as the bower was floating ten and a half feet above the floor at the time.  
  
"I have had enough of this," roared Snape as he launched himself to his feet.  
  
"What? Getting divorced already?" Sprout called out from the teachers table.  
  
Snape shot her the acid-melting glare he usually reserved for his Great-grandmother and Neville Longbottom. Sprout sat back in her chair and watched silently as Snape dragged his wife to her feet and prowled out of the room, the astronomy professor almost running to keep up with him.   
  
"It appears," said Assentor dryly, "that Mr and Mrs Snape have retired for the evening."  
  
---------------------  
  
Severus Snape put the last of his books onto the bookshelf and sat down heavily in his chair. That was it; the last of his belongings were in their right places in the new office he was to share with Aurora.  
  
Severus looked around and smirked. No one would have any doubt about who owned what. Aurora's mismatched and very battered astronomy books looked quite folorn beside his indexed, numbered and catalogued potions texts with the matching black covers he'd put on them some years ago. Even his battered cloak somehow looked neater than any of her belongings.  
  
He cast one more gaze around the room, quickly checking that everything was symmetrically aligned then picked up the one thing that didn't fit.  
  
---------------------  
  
"What are we doing here?" Aurora whispered sharply as she stumbled though glade of trees and tall grass.  
  
Severus replied with his trademark 'if you wait you will find out' expression and passed her a pair of omnioculars and a small packet of Bertie Botts Beans. He picked up his own pair of omnioculars and trained them on the small cottage.  
  
Aurora was out of bean and getting tired and cranky enough to complain again when two owls flew into view. The owls were carrying a large cardboard box between them which they dropped at the front door. One of the parcel owls flew in the window and a moment later Severus and Aurora heard a voice shout, "All right, I'm going to the door. Don't bite my ear off!"  
  
The cottage door creaked open very slightly and Sirius Black peered out. The wizard looked around for anyone watching him then he darted out the front door, picked up the box and darted back inside.  
  
A few moments later the silence was broken by the sound of high pitched voices singing and Black yelling. Severus and Aurora were about to sneak around the garden so they could look in the window when the front door burst open and a big black dog ran out of the house, a swarm of Cornish Pixies chasing him. The little pixies were singing, "deck the dog with bows of holly" as loudly as they could.  
  
"Huh! He got what he deserved for licking your leg." Severus said straight faced after the dog and his tiny blue admirers disappeared around into the woods on the other side of the cottage.  
  
Aurora looked up at Severus and noticed the tiny twitch of a smile at one end of Severus's mouth. She smiled at him and decided to allow him his lie, for now.  
  
"So, my dear Severus, there is something you now have to tell me." Aurora grinned, "Which are funnier, Hinkypunks or Pixies?"  
  
The twisted smile escaped onto Severus's features and he said, "I am not sure. Perhaps more experimentation is required before I can accurately assess the situation."  
  
Aurora grinned, "Experimentation like that may take many years."  
  
"Yes," Severus replied, his features now coming back under his control and his mind alive with the many tricks he could play on both Sirius and Lucius. "Of course, I shall need an assistant."  
  
"You? Find an assistant? Next thing you'll be telling people you've got yourself a wife?"  
  
"And who would believe that?" Severus replied.  
  
With matching wicked smirks upon their faces the Snapes disapparated with a loud, echoing 'pop'.  
  
The End 


End file.
